What Are You Doing for Lent?

“What are you doing for Lent?” It’s the most popular topic going these days among my Catholic and non-Catholic friends. Or at least, the most popular topic after when is this crazy winter ever going to end. And maybe, at some level, they’re related.

Pope Francis, no slouch when it comes to challenging the faithful, has urged us to consider St. Paul’s call to live “a life of evangelical poverty.” The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reminds us of the three pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. You see, there’s more to Lent than not eating meat on Fridays, fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and giving up wine or chocolate. It’s an opportunity to re-form ourselves in a more Christlike manner… to remind ourselves of how difficult, painful, and glorious being a follower of Christ is.

What am I doing for Lent? No meals out while I’m in town. That’s difficult; I have a lot of friends I love, and it is often in the breaking of the bread that I most see Christ in them. The money saved will go to charity. The time saved will be spent in meditation and prayer, some of it seated in a nearby adoration chapel. I’ll also stop playing electronic games, including the Android mah-jongg I’ve grown addicted to.

I’m also attempting to blog on a female saint or blessed each day and post a short video. Video recording and editing is not my strength. It’s difficult for me not to be a subject matter expert on things I share publicly. Many of you could do these videos better. But I’m sacrificing some of my vanity and pride on the altar because I’m called to do it, even if only one or two of you get anything out of these reflections.

Finally, I will continue my search for a piece of service beyond writing that directly benefits those who live on the margins of society. I’ve done some volunteer work with a local food bank over the years, but my participation has been spotty and not a priority.

And what about the long winter? At some point, we have to accept it is what it is, and deal with it. And  just as we’ve had to put on extra layers and heavy boots to slog on through this winter, so as Christians we must put on our spiritual armor and slog through the little and big arrows fired at us (and sometimes, fired by us). Winter will end, eventually; it’s beyond our control. Our lives will end, eventually; it’s beyond our control. But what we can control is how much we love and serve while we’re here. Lent’s a great time to re-examine how we do both.