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Issue: Q1, 2006 — Table of Contents: | › Home | › Spring Cleaning and Taxes | › Prayer and Healing |
| › How Do You Do Lent? | ||||
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| How Do You Do Lent? | |
| By Doreen Johnson | |
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Each year, much like New Year’s Day, so many of us declare Lent as our time for change. We selflessly give up chocolate, smoking, or frivolous spending. But when we unintentionally break our Lenten promise, do we make it up to ourselves? To God? We muddle through as best we can, tallying our deeds of goodness at the end of the season. So in the end, we do Lent in our own way, vowing to do better next year, but next year may not come. Although we may have good intentions to do better next year, we may not be in a position to follow through with the commitment a whole year later. So the opportunity to truly commit ourselves to Lent and therefore, to the teachings of our Lord, is a time to be honored now. It is a time to be serious, to think of what we are being asked to do. We are being asked to devote a period of roughly forty days and forty nights to the Lord, to experience the struggle that Jesus experienced, to live in his light, and to learn by his example, so that we may contribute to making the world a more holy place. Some people commit a lifetime to living by Jesus’ example. I am reminded of a young man who once wrote, "Personal excellence is something I strive for every day." The young man who wrote this statement volunteered alongside his father in his community to show other youth an example of positive relationships, a can-do attitude, and a commitment to a life that honors God. He attended school each day and followed the expectations. He participated in drama, band, and Upward Bound. He wore a smile each day, which only complimented the sharp necktie and pin set he wore as a part of his... |
...uniform at Providence-St. Mel. That smile brightened the days of others. It sounds rather simple that a smile can do so much, but that smile represented an inner light that shone brightly because the young man believed in God and wished to represent what he knew God to be through his actions. When the statement, "Personal excellence is something I strive for every day," was read at the funeral of James Finley, III, a former student of mine, I could only nod my head in agreement. This statement was part of his personal statement for his college admissions applications. James died before he was informed of his admissions status. Even though I taught him as a seventh grader at a public school, where no mention of God is permitted by law, it was evident that James was the sort of person who believed very strongly in the teachings of the Lord. He was someone who did Lent each day of his life. He was committed to living a life that exemplified that of a person who follows the Lord. He helped other people to live a better life. He was someone who understood that God has plans for all of us. In those plans, God asks a simple bit of self-discipline. He requests that we try something different from what we normally do. We are to abstain from meat on Fridays. We are to give alms regularly. We are to pray. We are to reflect so that when the forty days of Lent have ended, we may be in the habit of living as Jesus lived so that we, like young James, may do Lent each day of our lives. Lent will then no longer be a period of broken promises of trite variety. Lent will be truly representative of the life of Christ. |
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