LENT LENT AND MORE LENT

Last updated on: March 2, 2022 at 10:20 pm by Sherry Antonetti

LENT LENT AND MORE LENT 2022-03-02T22:20:33-05:00 Sherry Antonetti

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First, a very good piece by my friend, Simcha: Go Ahead, Give up Chocolate for Lent.

Next, my piece on Lent, if you need ideas other than giving up chocolate: 40 Ideas for What to Give up For Lent.

Lent is a time to work on one’s relationship with God and neighbor, and to fast from that which keeps us from God and our neighbor. The reality is, we attach ourselves to our appetites, our idols, our aspirations, our honors. We don’t recognize how much we substitute anything, all things, whatever shiny thing we find, for God.

My best Lents came not when I tried to spiritually bench press the most, but when I submitted myself to whatever it was that I offered, most especially when I didn’t want to…like volunteering on Saturday (in College), adding the daily mass (one year). The best lent ever was the year I calling my sister each day to pray one Hail Mary. We grew closer, and the devotion was a simple way to connect. It also sidestepped a major temptation for me, I almost always try to do too much (big surprise).

So I have to wait with God, for the quiet voice to point to me, the little thing God wants that I’ve been unwilling to consider.

Wish the voice came on a silver platter with a neon sign, “Hey Sherry, look here!”

The motto for the past three weeks has been, “Walk like it doesn’t hurt.” and I can’t always do that. I keep trying, and keep getting shocked when, sometimes, I can’t fake it. It’s not so bad, it’s just unpleasant, and makes it an annoying experience. The balls and heels of my feet prickle when I’ve been on them too long, or off. So either way, I notice. It feels trivial at best. I’m reminded of “When you fast, set your face like flint.” with respect to both the physical experience, and the spiritual wounds of life that include all the things big and small that I cannot affect, at least not effectively. The whole world feels like it needs to be placed on the altar, and we need to say, “Please Lord, fix it. We cannot but we know you can.”

I do not know how to offer it, except to offer it. It feels small, but again, I know, we are not asked to show off our spiritual strength but to recognize each of these 40 days, as we walk into the desert, the stubbornness, wickedness and weakness of our souls far outstrips any strength we possess. Asking God to burn away all the sin, all the desires for something other than to praise Him, is asking to feel the heat of the sun, the dryness of the air, the grit of the spiritual world that will sand down the soul over time. It is a prayer we must make each day and if we keep persisting, we may even walk like it doesn’t hurt by the end, and have forgotten that it hurt in the first place.

Good luck with your Lent. Each day, begin again, and place your trust in God as you walk out into this vast spiritual wasteland. There is a purpose in this going into the wilderness, and it is better than anything we imagine or could hope because God is, greater than we could imagine and more living and merciful than we could ever hope.

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