Lent Begins When?

In case you haven't heard, Lent begins on, of all days, St. Valentine's Day.  February14th for the non-romantics out there.

Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting and abstaining vs. St Valentine's Day, a day of chocolates and date night dinners out.

You will all have to figure it out on your own.  I'm writing to encourage you to start thinking about Lent.

What are you going to do to draw closer to Christ this year?  After all, He made a pretty big sacrifice to draw close to us.  He came down from heaven!

Just let that sink in for a minute: The God who created EVERYTHING humbled Himself to become human so that we could know Him personally.

I think that makes what we do for Lent worthy of much thought and prayer.

There is a lot of reading material out there for the season.

Magnificat puts out a Lenten booklet available here.  It's concise and easy to read.  I used to buy it, but my parish now has them available for us for a $1 donation.

I'm intrigued by this offer called "The Last Four Things".  Daily email videos and essays to read for the 40 days of Lent.  The only thing slowing me down is the $20 price tag.  It looks amazing but if I get busy and fall behind I feel like I wasted my money. Praying about it.

Of course there is always that "giving up" part of Lent.  This year I am giving up internet time, whether it is on my computer or on my phone.  I am reading two wonderful books that encourage way less internet "boredom therapy."

I actually spent one full hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament today.  If I gave up an hour of internet time wasting I could do that everyday. I can't imagine the person I would be if I spent an hour with Jesus everyday (in addition to Mass).

I know for today I had a LOT to do.  I spent the hour anyway and got so much done afterwards that the day was just wonderful.  God will never let the important stuff go undone if you give Him your time first.

So, Lent starts in 19 days.  What is your Lent going to look like so that you look more like Christ at Easter?


My other blog

What's Your Isaac?

In yet another excellent homily, our priest encouraged us to find our Isaac.

What’s your Isaac? 

In the book of Genesis, chapter 22, verses 1-19 we encounter Abraham being tested by God.  God sends Abraham to “a place I will show you.”  He instructs Abraham to sacrifice his son, “your only son, whom you love.”

So Abraham sets off, trusting that God will again work His wonders and that “God, Himself, will provide the lamb for the sacrifice.”

Abraham was willing to give up his Isaac, his promised one, for love of God. 

Father Tom encouraged us to find our Isaac.  What are we willing to sacrifice for love of God? Because our sacrifices mean something in our lives and the life of the church, we are all called to sacrifice.  

Right away, though, Father gave me an out.  He said, “I’m not talking about sweets or the little things we do during Lent.  I’m talking about an Isaac.  Something we love and would have a very difficult time giving up. 

I breathed a little sigh of relief and went home and had a brownie covered in chocolate ice cream.  And, I pondered what my Isaac is. 

All day long I thought and prayed about my Isaac.  I pondered while I ate part of a chocolate bar.  I pondered over a mug of hot chocolate and I pondered while the chocolate from my s’more dripped on my hands and down my chin (hey we’re up North and it’s a holiday weekend.) 

By the time I crawled into bed, I knew I had found my Isaac.  It is most definitely chocolate (really the only sweets I like).  On any given day, I eat at least one thing that contains chocolate.  I also like a mug or two of hot chocolate, even in the summertime.

I have given up chocolate in the past.  It is hard for a day but I feel so much better without it.  Something always draws me back to it. Perhaps a birthday, we have a lot of those in our house. 

 This time it was my nephew’s wedding.  They had a dessert bar extravaganza and the parfait was just too much to pass up.  Thus, my plunge back into the chocolate abyss began.  (Being on Prednisone didn’t help either.)

Now that I have admitted to at least one of my Isaacs, I have to come to terms with going back to living without chocolate.  It is not something I can commit to for an indefinite period of time.   I always give myself a time limit and then splurge for a bit before I dig back.  I’m human and weak after all.  But dig in I will and reap the benefits of doing without, especially if I offer this sacrifice to God for Him to use for His good purpose in my life and the life of the Church. 

While I do without chocolate, I will continue to think about other Isaacs that I have in my life. I’m sure there are more things I can do without that will draw me out of myself and closer to my Lord.  I am certain God has changes in store for me if I am honest in my search.   So I will keep praying about it.

Now I challenge you. What’s your Isaac?

You Are What You Eat

When our children were little, they had a favorite book called Chocolatina by Erik Kraft.  

The story is about a young girl named Tina who could not get enough chocolate. She ate it for breakfast, and at lunch and dinner.  She loved it so much she even snuck some during her classes at school.

Her health teacher drilled into the children's heads that, "you are what you eat".

One day, to Tina's horror, she actually turns completely chocolate.  She can't bend her arms to comb her hair,  her best friend won't sit by her on the bus because her mother would be mad if she got chocolate on her clothes.  Worst of all, her feet melt on the hot playground and the other kids have to carry her back into school.

Her teacher's warning had come true.  What a nightmare.

We, as Catholics, have a much better opportunity before us.  We also become what we eat.  But, we have access to the greatest feast of all time, the Eucharist.

Jesus Christ, Himself, becomes our food.

His own words confirm this:  "I am the Bread of Life."(John 6:48)

He goes on to say,  "If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him on the last day." (John 6: 53-54)

So what do we become if we receive the Eucharist?  We become like Christ. We become holy.

What does the Eucharist give us?  Abundant grace, sanctification, forgiveness of venial sins and a promise we can't refuse, eternal life.

There is no better offer on the face of the earth.  Come to the feast!!!


www.thatslife12.blogspot.com