4 weeks to get ready

Especially with fasting and almsgiving, Lent is a time to learn how to see others with the eyes of Christ and to express his compassion for the poor, Pope Benedict XVI said.

"In the face of the terrible challenge of poverty afflicting so much of the world's population, indifference and self-centered isolation stand in stark contrast to the gaze of Christ," he said in his message for Lent 2006.

Pope Benedict said responding to the needs of others like Christ meant not only meeting their material needs, but also offering them the Gospel."It is quite impossible to separate the response to people's material and social needs from the fulfillment of the profound desires of their hearts," he said.

Fasting and Almsgiving the Gift of Self. The boss is asking for a
lot!