Today marks the first day of Lent — Ash Wednesday. Most Catholics would be giving up something for the season. In years past, I’ve given up chocolate, caffeine, cursing, yelling at the kids—all were tough to do. The good thing is that I’ve completely stopped cursing and I can get by on less coffee and chocolate than I used to. Yelling at the kids…Well, I’m a work in progress.
This year I’ve decided to take a step back and really think about why we make a sacrifice during Lent: The sacrifices are an offering to God. It is our journey to holiness. Every time I’m tempted to eat that piece of chocolate or have a cup of coffee I become aware of my humanity and brokenness. Sometimes, what our flesh desires may not be what’s best for our soul. Fasting is a way to connect the soul to the body. When we are tempted to break our fast our mind and soul tells the body, “Hey, you might want that but you really don’t need that.”
So what’s my sacrifice?
I’m sacrificing myself and my stubbornness. Every day, I’m going to challenge myself to do one thing that I’ve been putting off or a do task that I least like to do. There are a lot of things I don’t like to do and I’m quite the procrastinator.
How about holiness?
I’ve challenged myself to recognize 5 ways God has blessed me every day. In addition to that, my awesome pastor, Fr. Jacob Bertrand, put together this video (with the help of my husband) for a 40 day challenge that you might want to take on as well:
My husband and I have already checked off the first thing on the list! You can download the list here.
So how are you making your journey to holiness for Lent? Share in the comments below!