Church of the Madalene

Even though Lent comes every year, we aren’t always ready for it. We don’t plan months, even weeks in advance for this season, as we do Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Even Independence Day carries with it some needed preparation. In fact, Ash Wednesday sometimes catches us off our guard. This year let’s make Ash Wednesday (Feb. 21st) our spiritual wake-up call! It can be a time when we identify and eliminate whatever is making us spiritually sleepy.

 Try these:

• Get a check-up. Through prayer and reflection identify the areas in your life or your relationships that lead you away from God. Make a plan to remove those distractions. Write it down. Follow it!
• Simplify. Lent is when we demonstrate our detachment from the world by eliminating luxury or comfort. Try eating less than you normally eat at meals during Lent, or cut out spices and sauces so that the food is simpler and possibly less appealing to our taste.
• Add something back. Once we remove the “static” between us and God, we need to do something new that will bring us closer to him. If you don’t pray a daily Rosary, start now. If you can’t get to daily
• Mass, follow the readings from wherever you are. Find time for more prayer.
• Demonstrate a change of heart. This is the season to turn away from the world and back to God. Show more charity. Refuse to complain, gossip or lose your temper. Act only with love.