Alright folks. One week down. How is everyone doing? Been perfect so far?<\/p>\n
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 only means I’m unintentionally bragging about what I’m doing, I’m being hypocritical too. That being said, we are a communal faith and we have each other to help us remember God’s grace when we are tempted or fail to live up to our standards.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/6098585736_6de8606f39_b-300x200.jpg?resize=300%2C200\" "\\"Road")
photocredit: flickr\/10422334@N08<\/p><\/div>\n
I’m doing a few different things for Lent. One is a spiritual practice, to simply get closer to God. Another is removing a useful tool that I abuse from my life, more of a Catholic New Year’s Resolution. Another is simply a sacrifice for the sake of the sacrifice.<\/p>\n
I’m addicted to my iPod Touch. It isn’t even an iPhone, which is probably good as I’d be on it far more often when I’m out of the house. It’s incredibly useful. I can plow through e-mail, keep up with everyone on Facebook and Twitter. It’s great, except I had fallen into a deep pit of constantly using it. While Lent isn’t supposed to be simply not doing things you shouldn’t be doing already, I used the timing to drop it cold turkey.<\/p>\n
The great thing about this one is breaking this practice is hard. The iPod is surely dead by now (I left it on and put it in a drawer last Tuesday night), so not only would I have to go into the drawer, but I’d have to plug it in too. In short, despite my reflex to reach for it still forcing my hand, this one is easy. I’ve surprised myself by not cheating (even on Sunday).<\/p>\n
The sacrifice-for-the-sake-of-sacrifice has been my troublesome one. I love coffee. In the rankings of life, coffee is in the top 10 easy. If I ever seemed like a jerk, it is because I hadn’t had my morning, mid-morning, lunch, afternoon, or early evening cup. (A very slight hyperbole, very slight). I’m not a real man, though, and don’t drink it black. For Lent, I’m sacrificing the sugar.<\/p>\n
I’ve cheated twice. On Sunday, I had sugar in my coffee at breakfast. Olivia loves to help me with my coffee and really wanted me to let her give me sugar for my coffee. It was Sunday, a “little Easter”. I’m of two minds on the debate of Lenten sacrifices applying on Sundays, but it’s just a little sugar from my little girl. Yesterday, though, I just gave it and sugared up one cup.<\/p>\n
In my defense, without sugar, I haven’t drank as much coffee. Cold coffee with sugar is fine enough, but without. Bleh. The reduced about of coffee though made getting through the day with two toddlers less like my heaven-of-always-having-my-kids-with-me to a purgatory. Either way, it is supposed to be a sacrifice, right?<\/p>\n
I admire the people that can decide on their Lenten practices (before Ash Wednesday) then execute flawlessly through the season. Except for not drinking sodas in 8th grade (my first Lent as a practicing Catholic), I haven’t done it.<\/p>\n
That’s the beauty of Lent. It is a season of preparation for Easter. This is the time for us to rid ourselves of what is holding us back from God. No, sugar in my coffee is not keeping me from God, but a time for us to detach ourselves from what is secondary in life and reaffirm our commitment to what is primary\u2014God and His place for us in the world.<\/p>\n
Our pilgrim journey toward the celebration of the Resurrection at Easter is not meant for the saint; it is meant for the sinner to be transformed into a saint. By purposely walking toward God, we are striving to walk away from the God-less, be it temptation from the devil or apathy or ignorance. We aren’t always ready for Easter on Ash Wednesday, nor are we asked to be.<\/p>\n
The ashes of Ash Wednesday are to remind us that we “are dust to dust shall [we] return”, inviting us to “repent, and believe in the Gospel”. The prayer of blessing for the ashes ask that as we “follow the Lenten observances, [we] may be worth to come with minds made pure to celebrate the Paschal Mystery of [His] Son.” We’re to purify ourselves during Lent, not expected to always have pure minds when we start (though we should!).<\/p>\n
If you have already slipped up or cheated on your Lenten practices this year, don’t despair. Use it as a reminder of how far we all have to go to reach the perfection we are destined to strive toward and begin anew. If you haven’t figured out what you’re doing for Lent this year, you can still start today.<\/p>\n
Our goal isn’t to be perfect from day one, it is to reach the perfection found in Christ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 only means I’m unintentionally bragging… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"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_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,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,90],"tags":[562,591,626,627],"class_list":["post-12256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-blog","category-faith-blog","tag-fasting","tag-lent","tag-penance","tag-temptation","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":365517,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/a-lent-of-luminous-darkness-and-wild-seeds\/","url_meta":{"origin":12256,"position":0},"title":"A Lent of Luminous Darkness and Wild Seeds","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"February 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I love Lent. I am always happy to hear that I am dust, and that to dust I shall return. When I close my eyes to pray, I can really tell I am dust. In here where I live, it's quiet and dark. Simple. Nothing to it. \u00a0Who am I?\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\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/maxresdefault-332x187.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":387756,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/father-love-lenten-reflection\/","url_meta":{"origin":12256,"position":1},"title":"To My Father For All His Love: A Lenten Reflection","author":"Anonymous","date":"April 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Guest Post by Deacon Dan Lupo In Chicago, where I grew up, March days are shrouded in gray, blasted by icy wind, and blanketed by snow. Perfect Lent weather. The weather is Lent-perfect because the gray skies evoke a somber mood, which matches the serious attitude Lent fosters. Lent calls\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/deacondan-2-ordination-157x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":378707,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2017\/03\/living-lent-like-little-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":12256,"position":2},"title":"Living Lent like a Little One","author":"Rachel","date":"March 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Lent is a\u00a0season of conversion, a call to repentance, a time of turning back to God. To me, these are Christ's most striking words on conversion: Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,\u00a0you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. \u00a0(Matthew 18:3) Unless you turn\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\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/child-angel-statue.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/child-angel-statue.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/child-angel-statue.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/child-angel-statue.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101478,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/03\/what-my-husband-taught-me-about-lent\/","url_meta":{"origin":12256,"position":3},"title":"What My Husband Taught Me About Lent","author":"Britt Echtenkamp","date":"March 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This Lenten season is the first one Danger and I have experienced as husband and wife. We began the season as brand new parents, and didn't spend much time discerning what our Lenten sacrifices would be, either\u00a0individually and as a couple. At first, I declared I would give up Sonic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Face of Jesus","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/sufferingservant-184x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":720454,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/the-waze-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":12256,"position":4},"title":"The “Waze” of God","author":"Rachel","date":"March 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"You know that moment when you plug your destination into Waze, and you hope and thinking, \u201cAm I going to make it on time?...Waze says I\u2019ll get there 5:23pm\u2026but maybe the traffic will lighten up? Or it will find me a short cut??\u201d A couple of weeks ago I was\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\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_6463-550x310.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_6463-550x310.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_6463-550x310.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":759608,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/dear-austin-let-us-pray\/","url_meta":{"origin":12256,"position":5},"title":"Dear Austin, let us pray…","author":"Rachel","date":"March 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It is a morning to pray. We woke up to the news today that the suspect behind the recent package bombs had been caught, and indeed had taken his own life in the process. Let us pray this morning together for peace in our city, for peace in our families,\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\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_6798.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_6798.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_6798.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"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\/12256","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\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12256\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}