Lent

As many know, Lent began on Feb 22nd with Ash Wednesday. In the past couple of years, I have become a huge fan of Lent. Now, I know you don't often hear people saying that, so let me explain myself. Many people are critical of the Catholic Church for being so uniform and 'text book.' The sayings are the same, the order is the same, there is little room for ad lib in much of the communal setting. I usually spin this around and see this as a strength and beauty of the Church. I can go to any mass anywhere in the country, heck, even in a foreign country, and know what I am supposed to do and what is going on - minus some kneeling vs standing. Yeah, the music may change as well as the homily, but I know I will get 2 readings, a Psalm, and the Gospel. While I/we know God is all around us, the hour we spend in church walls is 'God concentrated,' as we take it seriously...or at least I do. How does this relate to loving Lent? To me it is reverence. 


I have gone to several types of churches throughout the past 5 years with Matt. No other denomination is as reverent during service...except maybe some Orthodox...and those that have Latin mass. In addition, very few ever even mention Lent. There is no 40 days of prayer and fasting. No abstaining from meat. No sacrifices. Easter just sneaks up on you. Celebrating (and yes, I use that word intentionally) Lent gives me a chance to concentrate on my relationship with God. I have the chance to reflect and try to understand how I can be a better person. I love this. You may say, "Becky, you can do this anytime of year," which is totally true. But I don't. Lent gives me the extra push because I know (hopefully) millions of other Catholics are going through the same process with me.


For Lent, I have chosen 2 things to do - one to incorporate into my life and one to remove from it. I will try to read some sort of reading everyday (easy with our Galaxy tab...has an app for that.) I have also chosen to not a) drink on nights when I work the next day and b) not drink beer or hard alcohol. With night float coming up, that leaves me with Friday nights to enjoy some wine. If you have ever read this blog, you know...I love beer. Hence, this really is a sacrifice for me. Plus, Jesus loved wine I am pretty sure.


To celebrate Fat Tuesday, I invited 2 friends over (Matt was working late), and we enjoyed bacon-beer pancakes, eggs, and, well, beer! It was great. 


No reviews today. Sorry