I can hardly believe Lent starts tomorrow! It seems like it was just Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, and then New Year's, and then Valentine's Day...and suddenly, after months of excess and overeating, here we are. I don't know about you, but I'm the kind of person for whom deadlines are a double edged sword - they instill a creeping anxiety in me while simultaneously giving me the slap to the face that helps me get things accomplished. At the risk of sounding crass, Lent is like a term paper deadline for me. The thought that we are going to be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus in a little over 40 days is what I need every year to make me reevaluate the way I live my life and take stock of the material excesses and habits that serve to distance me from God. My plan for this Lenten season is:
- cut out watching any television during the day and to fill that time with prayer and/or daily Mass
- make daily prayer with my husband a priority
- eliminate all joking at others' expense (this applies to two particular people who shall remain nameless at this point) and gossip - actually think about what I say before I say it!
- spend free-reading time reading Catholic literature instead of Sherlock Holmes stories, etc.
So that's the plan. I think that making it "public" (for the 3 people who read this blog) will help me stick to it and achieve the personal conversion that is the heart of Lent.
And to help you with your Lenten journey, here are some good links and articles I dug up while wasting time on the internet:
We Could All Use a Little More Deprivation
Recommended Reading for Lent
Fr. Euteneuer on Wasting Lent
All Your Lenten Questions Answered
More Lenten Reading
Death on a Friday Afternoon
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