It's That Time of Year Again... LENT!

Hey all,

So it's been a looooong time since I last posted. It was coming up on the end of February, and I couldn't bring myself to have one lonely post for the entire month. But now it's March (aaaaaahhhhh so much closer to graduation!). Spring better be on its way. For real.

Last Wednesday was the beginning of Lent - 40 some-odd days (it's never an even 40) before Easter when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the dead. It's a time to focus on God, to clear our lives in a kind of spring cleaning for the soul. We make sacrifices in our daily lives so that we can taste a fraction of Christ's suffering before His death. I try to make it a practice to give up something dietary and something more soul-pertaining, and adding more prayer. This year, it's manifesting itself in the giving up of meat for all 40+ days, as well as giving up listening to music in an attempt to better understand silence. I had resolved very early in the school year that I would give up meat this Lent, because I felt that it was within my means to do so. I felt ready. I'm only a few days into it, but it is not easy. Literally, everything that I was craving on Ash Wednesday was once part of an animal. The absence of music has also been difficult. I've allowed myself to "celebrate" on Sundays (not included in Lent, because they are feast days). The most difficult part of this is being in my car, particularly when I will drive home in two weeks. I'll say a rosary, pray in other ways, talk to God, relearn how to be still. On the flip side, I'm adding one-on-one meetings with a few people who have been on my mind and heart, and going to mass on Saturdays, because I feel like my prayer life also takes a vacation on Saturdays when I'm not around a church. Lent is a time of sorrow, yes, but it's also a time of preparing for the joy of the resurrected Christ. Never forget that the story of faith doesn't end with the crucifixion - there's a happy ending.