Priorities

Since Ash Wednesday is a week from today, it is time to start looking at what we might possibly do to make those next 40 days stand out as different from the rest of the year,to brainstorm, and prioritize those ideas so that we really DO something specific and not be all over the place and accomplish little. Since Lent is placed in the Church calendar as a time of preparation to renew our baptismal promises at Easter, we need to ask ourselves what we can do to renew our commitment of faith, the rejection of evil, and enhance our life in Christ as an adopted son or daughter of God. We tend to grow sluggish in our spiritual life, and Lent provides a time to "get in spiritual shape." Many folks commit time to a dailyphysical workout at home or in a gym, paying the cost as a sign of their determination. Are we willing to make such a "sacred" commitment to spiritual conditioning?
If we say yes, then we need to look at the areas that are the weakest and work on them. The Church recommends a three-pronged approach: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. How are we doing with weekly Mass attendence, personal prayer, family prayer? Is there value in "giving up" something, or in fasting from something we like or are "addicted to"...not just food, but some activity. Can we take time to do some service to the needy? Yes, our lives are already busy, so we need to prioritze and do something we can do consistently for the length of the season. Our focus is on Jesus and how we can eliminate attitudes, distractions, things that block our relationship with him, not just doing spiritual pushups for their own sake. We have a week to choose. Let's not be too hard on ourselves, but that the same time, let's do something that will mark Lent as a season that will be different from our ordinary routine and really bring us again to resurrection and new life at Easter.
Bro. Rene