It’s 20 days into Lent. Your firm resolve to give up dessert and be kind to your annoying neighbor is wearing thin. You’ve missed your prayers three days in a row, even though you firmly committed to pray for at least 30 minutes each day. You’re invited to a dinner party where steak is served— but it’s on a Friday. As you walk through the grocery store, you catch a tantalizing whiff of fresh donuts, but you gave up dessert. Your neighbor is letting his dog bark endlessly again…
Sounds familiar? We’ve all been there. We begin Lent with the best of intentions, expecting to grow closer to Our Lord, but instead of becoming holier, we feel worn out and find ourselves growing irritable and impatient.
Since Ash Wednesday is now a week away, I thought I’d spend some time writing about how to have a fruitful Lent instead of a frustrating one. Today, let’s look at the point of Lent.
February 11, 2015