{"id":11962,"date":"2012-02-22T20:37:34","date_gmt":"2012-02-23T02:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=11962"},"modified":"2012-02-22T20:41:25","modified_gmt":"2012-02-23T02:41:25","slug":"i-kinda-3-lent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/02\/i-kinda-3-lent\/","title":{"rendered":"I Kinda <3 Lent"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>“Remember, man you are dust and to dust you will return.” \u2013Roman Missal, Imposition of Ashes<\/em><\/p>\n

So, I\u2019m a little bit crazy. My favorite \u201cCatholic holiday\u201d is the Easter Triduum, but most especially within that, Good Friday. Yeah, the day Jesus Christ died. Most people think that it\u2019s just a little bit crazy that my favorite day would be the day Jesus died. But this is how I look at it: Christ died for us so we could be in Heaven with Him. If He didn\u2019t die, what would it mean for me? Without Christ\u2019s death, there can be no resurrection, no life after death (i.e., Easter and later, Heaven).<\/p>\n

And as a result, I kinda love the whole of the Lenten season too.<\/p>\n

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Lent is a time within the Catholic Church in which we prepare for Easter, when Christ rose from the dead. It is a 40-day period when we are to seek a deeper relationship with Christ and become holier. We accomplish this through the three traditional pillars of Lent, prayer, fasting and almsgiving (giving money and\/or our time).<\/p>\n

Often people give up things that are bad for them, and return to those things right after Lent is over. Lent is not a time for New Year’s Resolution-type things to be done. Rather, it is a time to turn away from our sin and be faithful to Christ. It is a time to recognize our humanity and sinfulness and seek to become holier.<\/p>\n

I can say that from personal experience, I have made Lenten sacrifices that have carried over very well post-Lent and have helped me stay closer to Christ, such as my lack of listening to secular music, not swearing often, etc. But, I\u2019ve also had some that haven\u2019t stuck as well, such as not eating out often and not drinking anything except water.<\/p>\n

Lent can be hard, but we’re not perfect. And that\u2019s okay. Lent is for helping us become holier and closer to God.<\/p>\n

And so I humbly offer just a few online resources to help you on your Lenten journey that have helped me at times too:<\/p>\n

www.catholic.org\/clife\/lent\/<\/a> -History of Lent and its symbols, FAQs and a Stations of the Cross <\/p>\n

www.americancatholic.org<\/a> \u2013Daily Lenten blogs and a calendar with Daily Meditations<\/p>\n

www.usccb.org\/prayer-and-worship\/liturgical-resources\/lent\/<\/a> -Resources from our great U.S. Bishops, and includes Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s message for Lent 2012<\/p>\n

www.lifeteen.com<\/a> \u2013Especially great blogs for teens and young adults<\/p>\n

“Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” -Roman Missal, Imposition of Ashes<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Remember, man you are dust and to dust you will return.” \u2013Roman Missal, Imposition of Ashes So, I\u2019m a little bit crazy. My favorite \u201cCatholic holiday\u201d is the Easter Triduum, but most especially within that, Good Friday. Yeah, the day Jesus Christ died. Most people think that it\u2019s just a little bit crazy that my… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[619,591,2885],"class_list":{"0":"post-11962","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"tag-ash-wednesday","8":"tag-lent","9":"tag-resources","10":"entry","11":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44247,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/03\/fast-lent\/","url_meta":{"origin":11962,"position":0},"title":"Why do we fast during Lent?","author":"Maria Salazar","date":"March 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Lent is now upon us and it will soon be time for fasting and abstaining from meat.\u00a0 Why do we do these things and why is it necessary to fast in our spiritual life? A few days ago I was in line for confession and ended up staring at and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"tumblr_mtavhdvESW1st5lhmo1_1280","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tumblr_mtavhdvESW1st5lhmo1_1280-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":210883,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/02\/210883\/","url_meta":{"origin":11962,"position":1},"title":"Lent, Baptism, Gift and our Will","author":"William Rooney","date":"February 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of Lent 2015. Lent is a time of liturgical preparation for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery during the days of the Holy Triduum. However, it\u2019s purpose is not limited to actions to get us ready for yet another remembrance of these holy and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch by the Deacon Philip by Lambert Sustris","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Lambert_Sustris_-_The_Baptism_of_the_Ethiopian_Eunuch_by_the_Deacon_Philip_-_WGA21979-550x288.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Lambert_Sustris_-_The_Baptism_of_the_Ethiopian_Eunuch_by_the_Deacon_Philip_-_WGA21979-550x288.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Lambert_Sustris_-_The_Baptism_of_the_Ethiopian_Eunuch_by_the_Deacon_Philip_-_WGA21979-550x288.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38135,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/03\/do-you-count-sundays-in-lent\/","url_meta":{"origin":11962,"position":2},"title":"Do You Count Sundays in Lent?","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"March 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve been very amazed to see the amount of Catholics that haven\u2019t been to mass in years yet still feel the need to give something up for Lent. I haven\u2019t seen any official polls, but it seems that this group is even larger than the ones that go to mass\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Do You Count Sundays In Lent?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/DoYouCountSundaysInLent-630x320.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12256,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/02\/have-you-cheated-yet\/","url_meta":{"origin":11962,"position":3},"title":"Have You Cheated Yet?","author":"Brandon Kraft","date":"February 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Alright folks. One week down. How is everyone doing? Been perfect so far? I admit, I already had a Lenten slip-up. This year, for better or worse, I didn't mention what I was offering up for Lent on my personal site. In retrospect, I usually fail at it, which not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/6098585736_6de8606f39_b-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":44563,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/03\/slipping-lent-questions-lenten-sacrifices\/","url_meta":{"origin":11962,"position":4},"title":"Slipping Up in Lent – Questions about Lenten Sacrifices","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"March 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"When we start Lent with a day like Ash Wednesday, it sets a somewhat somber tone for the season. This is a season of sacrifice, penance, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Definitely sounds like a no-fun zone. Thinking about doing something that makes you happy? Save it for Easter!\u00a0This is at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Questions About Lenten Sacrifices","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/QuestionsAboutLentenSacrifices-630x419.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":39063,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/04\/what-i-learned-this-lent\/","url_meta":{"origin":11962,"position":5},"title":"What I learned This Lent","author":"Jason Elizondo","date":"April 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi everyone! We have a Guest Blogger pinch hitting for me today, please welcome Laurelin Ontai. Laurelin is a cradle Catholic and is currently a junior at UT majoring in advertising with a minor in business. She is social media obsessed and a lover of corgis. She doesn't know what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Intermittent-Fasting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Intermittent-Fasting-300x223.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11962\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}