February 25 Happy Ash Wednesday!
When Lent begins, I tend see people with sour faces. They look more serious and more devout, and they don’t look like they are having much fun. Lent can also be a fun time. It is time to do new things, like go to the stations of the cross, make a pilgrimage to a local fish fry or spiritual talk at a parish, or give yourself an excuse for changing something about your life, you wanted to, but did not have the nerve to carry it out.
Some seem more interested in giving up stuff for a while rather than taking on things that can change the direction of your life. This is the time the Church gives us every year to challenge ourselves to become better believers. Even if we are good, we can always be better. It is not about the quantity of things that we give up or take on, rather it is about the quality of our love for God that needs to increase. When I measure the success of my work during Lent, I want to see concretely how I have grown in my relationship with God to become a better person intellectually, spiritually and even physically, though that is the hardest for me.
All I can say is have a good time during Lent. Enjoy being with God more, take advantage of the opportunities to serve others. Then, when we finally come to Easter Sunday, we will be able to truly celebrate how through the death and resurrection of Jesus and the working of the Holy Spirit we have become better servants of God and one another.
