Guess What? Lent Begins Tomorrow!
Okay, you know Lent begins tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. So you've got a plan in place, right? This plan of yours originated from one or two sources: a) your spiritual director, or, b) your thoughtful consideration of how you will perform acts of special prayer, penance, and almsgiving during the coming holy season. Either way works.
Of course, there's always the possibility that you may not have finalized your Lenten discipline yet. Maybe your life has been super hectic lately and, despite your best intentions, you find yourself less than 24 hours from Ash Wednesday without a plan. Been there, done that. So if that's the case, you might look at our posts for the last three Sundays. You'll find some simple but serious guidance that can help you get things in order. Sure, it'll take a little time to read through and - more importantly - prayerfully consider. But nothing good comes cheap or easy, right?
So when the work day ends, set aside whatever time you need tonight, maybe tomorrow morning, and at least sketch out an outline. You can firm things up after you get your ashes, and the reality that Lent has really arrived settles in.
Here's something else you might fine helpful. It's from The Life of St. Peter Damian. We read how "the prudent man, intent on his salvation, will gird his loins with the girdle of perfect mortification."
Even though it's a little-heard phrase, to "gird your loins" really gets to the heart of what we're trying to do here. It was used in the past to refer to getting ready for a dangerous situation, or, more specifically, preparing for a military attack. More generally, it's about readying yourself of any kind of confrontation. What's the "confrontation" we're preparing for in Lent? It's "us": our typical self-centered nature.
St. Peter Damian understands human nature. So read his words carefully. They can serve as a serious guide for your own commitment to penance during Lent. Giving up tasty morcels can be a start, but the real substance of our penance lies in building virtue by denying ourselves.
So how should the prudent man "gird his loins"?
"...he achieves this when the greedy gullet is kept in check; when the wanton tongue is compelled to be silent; when the ears are shut to scandalmongering; when the eyes are forbidden to look upon unlawful things; when the hand is bound, for fear it should strike another cruelly, and the foot, lest it should wander idly; when the heart is withstood, for fear it should envy the prosperity of another, or desire and covet that which is not its own, lest it should be cut off from brotherly love by anger, or raise itself above others in its pride, or succumb to the delights of enticing pleasure; lest it should be too much weighed down by grief or lay itself open to the seductions of joy. Since, then, the human mind cannot be utterly empty, but must always be concerned with love of something, it must be completely surrounded by this wall of virtue; that which is not permitted to expand in its own surroundings must necessarily be carried above itself."
It's all there, isn't it? I think you can parse this simple paragraph and fashion a pretty effective plan for Lent.
This matter of a Lenten discipline is serious stuff. Don't let this holy season roll by without reaching out for the graces God makes available to us if we apply ourselves.
And don't allow your work to "override" Lent. As we've discussed many, many times, how we work can be a powerful tool to help us achieve holiness. So as we work our way through Lent, we'll be posting special tools we can use at work to help us hone our work day to better serve our spiritual lives, particularly during Lent. We'll explain more in our next post.
Of course, there's always the possibility that you may not have finalized your Lenten discipline yet. Maybe your life has been super hectic lately and, despite your best intentions, you find yourself less than 24 hours from Ash Wednesday without a plan. Been there, done that. So if that's the case, you might look at our posts for the last three Sundays. You'll find some simple but serious guidance that can help you get things in order. Sure, it'll take a little time to read through and - more importantly - prayerfully consider. But nothing good comes cheap or easy, right?
So when the work day ends, set aside whatever time you need tonight, maybe tomorrow morning, and at least sketch out an outline. You can firm things up after you get your ashes, and the reality that Lent has really arrived settles in.
Here's something else you might fine helpful. It's from The Life of St. Peter Damian. We read how "the prudent man, intent on his salvation, will gird his loins with the girdle of perfect mortification."
Even though it's a little-heard phrase, to "gird your loins" really gets to the heart of what we're trying to do here. It was used in the past to refer to getting ready for a dangerous situation, or, more specifically, preparing for a military attack. More generally, it's about readying yourself of any kind of confrontation. What's the "confrontation" we're preparing for in Lent? It's "us": our typical self-centered nature.
St. Peter Damian understands human nature. So read his words carefully. They can serve as a serious guide for your own commitment to penance during Lent. Giving up tasty morcels can be a start, but the real substance of our penance lies in building virtue by denying ourselves.
So how should the prudent man "gird his loins"?
"...he achieves this when the greedy gullet is kept in check; when the wanton tongue is compelled to be silent; when the ears are shut to scandalmongering; when the eyes are forbidden to look upon unlawful things; when the hand is bound, for fear it should strike another cruelly, and the foot, lest it should wander idly; when the heart is withstood, for fear it should envy the prosperity of another, or desire and covet that which is not its own, lest it should be cut off from brotherly love by anger, or raise itself above others in its pride, or succumb to the delights of enticing pleasure; lest it should be too much weighed down by grief or lay itself open to the seductions of joy. Since, then, the human mind cannot be utterly empty, but must always be concerned with love of something, it must be completely surrounded by this wall of virtue; that which is not permitted to expand in its own surroundings must necessarily be carried above itself."
It's all there, isn't it? I think you can parse this simple paragraph and fashion a pretty effective plan for Lent.
This matter of a Lenten discipline is serious stuff. Don't let this holy season roll by without reaching out for the graces God makes available to us if we apply ourselves.
And don't allow your work to "override" Lent. As we've discussed many, many times, how we work can be a powerful tool to help us achieve holiness. So as we work our way through Lent, we'll be posting special tools we can use at work to help us hone our work day to better serve our spiritual lives, particularly during Lent. We'll explain more in our next post.
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