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This week, we have begun the solemn season of Lent. It is a seven-week period designed to take a spiritual inventory through prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Last summer, I was in Sudan at the conclusion of Ramadan, a sacred time for the Muslim community. It was truly amazing to witness how almost all in Northern Sudan, which is largely Muslim, adheres so intently to fasting from sunrise till sunset, and to attending daily prayer and giving generously - not just of their surplus, but of their very substance, to assist the poor.

Their observance is inspiring and somewhat akin to what I remember of Lent during the days of my boyhood, adolescence and young adulthood. Attendance at daily Mass would triple. Many would recite the Rosary each day and make the Stations of the Cross weekly.

Confession lines grew longer. Not only did Catholics abstain from meat on Friday, but many partook of only one full meal a day. Further, people would make all kinds of sacrifices: abstaining from alcohol; giving up candy, soda, ice cream and other desserts; skipping the movies or a favorite TV show - and then donating money saved from these penitential practices to the missions or to a charity serving the needy.

These remain good Lenten disciplines, ways in which we can heed the admonishment given us on Ash Wednesday when ashes were placed on our forehead: "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."

They are ways whereby we can become more attuned to God's presence in our life and in the world, more cognizant of our sins and failures and of our need for spiritual growth and development, and more generous in sharing our time and treasure on behalf of the poor and needy.

Prayer, fasting and almsgiving, in other words, are far from outmoded, but remain beneficial ways to become more self-aware and to draw closer to God during these 40 days of Lent. This leads up to the celebration of the central mysteries of our salvation during Holy Week, when we commemorate Christ's sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary and his glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Through His Passover from death unto life, Jesus has redeemed us from our sins and opened for us the gateway to eternal life for which God has destined each of us from the dawn of creation.

This year, however, I would like to offer an additional significant way for us to observe the season of Lent and to advance God's plan of salvation: namely, sharing our faith with others.

I mention this because, I believe, the greatest challenge facing the world, our society and ourselves is the loss or weakening of faith.

There are 90 million Ameri-cans who are unchurched. There are 18 million Catholics who have stopped practicing their faith. The largest Christian denomination in the United States today is Roman Cathol-icism; the second-largest is fallen-away Roman Catholics.

The number of people identifying themselves as atheists in our country has grown significantly and we all know someone - a family member, neighbor, friend, coworker or classmate - who falls into one or another of these categories.

Reaching out to such persons and sharing our faith with them would be an excellent way to enter fully into the Lenten season. Indeed, we in the Diocese of Albany have already embarked upon a three-year program of faith sharing or evangelization titled, "Amazing God."

This year, we are focusing on God's love. Next year, the focus will be on the heart of Christ, and the third year on the movement of the Spirit in our lives.

However, to actually share our faith with others by inviting them to join our faith community or to reconnect with it will probably be more difficult for us than the other types of Lenten observances or sacrifices I mentioned earlier.

Why? Unfortunately, as Cath-olics we tend to be very privatized in our approach to faith. Outside of formal church services or a faith formation program, we are very reluctant to talk to others about God and what roles God plays in our lives. The old adage that "you never talk about religion and politics in polite company" is very much ingrained in our Catholic genes.

For example, when I was growing up, although we attended Mass weekly as a family and would recite the family Rosary during the months of May and October - and while I know my parents were faith-filled and spirit-filled people - rarely, if ever, did we talk about who God is and how God influences our day-to-day activities. I don't think my family was unique in this regard.

When I was a newly-ordained priest serving the poor and minorities in the inner city of Albany at Providence House (a storefront social action center) and at Hope House (a drug treatment program), I had no problem celebrating Mass, preaching and administering the sacraments in Church; no problem in speaking to any organization that would invite me about the social dimensions of the Gospel; and no problem in responding to people's social or material needs.

But when it came to sharing our Catholic faith with another on a one-to-one basis - especially if that person did not initiate a conversation - I literally froze, feeling that this would be unprofessional or coercive: namely, that I would be engaging in so-called "rice Christianity," offering assistance to people on the condition that they embrace our Catholic faith.

However, in my heart of hearts, I realized that I was allowing my own self-image and my own concern for human respect to get in the way of my baptismal call and ordination responsibility to proclaim the Good News of Jesus, in season and out of season.

There are other obstacles to faith-sharing that Catholics encounter. Some like myself, who were raised with the question-and-answer format of the Baltimore Catechism, are reluctant to share our faith with others because we are afraid we won't have the answer to questions they may pose - or, worse still, that we might give an incorrect or incomplete answer.

Many contemporary Catho-lics tend to identify faith-sharing with the pushy tactics of the Jehovah's Witness, the blatant hucksterism of some televangelists or the God-on-my-sleeve approach of some "born agains." In no way do we want to be associated with this type of "in your face" proselytism.

Further, in our pluralistic society and culture, where we have adopted a kind of "live and let live" attitude, we are often reluctant to share our faith with others because this sharing may seem intrusive and offensive to them; or perhaps, more to the point, that we ourselves might be rejected, ridiculed, scorned or ostracized.

Yet, if we are to be truly responsive to the Lenten call to "turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel," we have no other option. Being faithful to the Gospel not only means accepting it ourselves, but sharing it with others, in response to the words of Jesus on the day of His ascension to heaven: "Go forth and proclaim the Good News to the whole of creation" (Mk 16:15).

What might this mean for you practically and concretely during this Lenten season? I would suggest that, at a minimum, you identify someone you know who is unchurched or who is a lapsed Catholic and pray for him or her during these days of Lent.

Try to find an opportunity to share with that person why your Catholic faith is so important to you; why you believe in Jesus; how His message of love, healing and forgiveness gives purpose, direction and meaning to your life; and how the Mass and the sacraments nourish and sustain you in your efforts to love God and to live in accordance with God's plan of life.

You might share with another how your faith sustained you through a tough time, during an illness or in coping with the death of a parent, spouse or friend.

You might invite such a person to attend Mass with you, to participate in some Lenten program in your parish or deanery or to watch the Amazing God DVD (available at www.amazinggodrcda.org).

In other words, during this season of Lent, drawing upon our diocesan Amazing God initiative (see your parish bulletin or the above website for details), look for ways through prayer and, hopefully, action to reach out to others and find a way to connect with them so that they may reflect upon the spiritual dimension of their life and how this might be ignited, rekindled or enhanced.

If you do this, your journey with Jesus along the road of Lent will truly be a spirit-filled venture and leave both you and the beneficiary of your faith-sharing enriched immeasurably.

God bless you and have a happy Lent.[[In-content Ad]]

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