Lent reflections

Well, it's already that time of year again.  I love Lent because it creates such a challenge within us and is such a good season of preparation for Easter.  I absolutely despise Fat Tuesday.  I've never been a big fan of New Orleans, but the fact that they just go crazy celebrating gluttony and even agree to have a week off of school for this -- it's a tad bit ridiculous, to me at least.

Usually during Lent I like to try to both give up something and add something to my life.  This year I've decided to:
a.) give up sugar.  I know that it's practically impossible to avoid sugar so I'm talking about giving up things I know have a ton of sugar like ice cream, cakes, pies *tear*, pop, candy, frappachinos, etc...not like fruits and natural sugars.  This will be hard but I'm lookign forward to seeing how I feel after eliminating it.

b.) smile more.  They say to always smile because you never know whose day you may brighten.  I'm notorious for not smiling which has even coined me the nickname "the great stone face" from my family.  I just don't seem to smile a lot when I'm busy or concentrating or what have you, so I have a goal of doing this more and just being generally more friendly to those I don't know.  By doing this today I've already felt that good feeling you get when you know you've been nice to a stranger.

c.) set aside time to pray and attend mass regularly.  I've become so bad about 'letting life and work get in the way'.  It's so easy to make excuses when you have weird work hours, but I should make the sacrifice to stay awake the extra couple hours to go to mass in the morning etc.  I feel so selfish when I skip mass or put off praying.  Since being away at college my family has decided they dislike our priest so much that they don't go to mass anymore.  It's so difficult to go to mass alone, but I know it's the right thing to do and they need my prayers.  It makes me fully appreciate the path of life I've been on...by going to a private Catholic school and joining a Catholic sorority in college -- I know this past is what encourages me to still want to have an active faith.

Lent is a beautiful thing.  As my priest put it yesterday during Ash Wednesday mass...the ashes are not a miraculous or healing item...they are simply a sign.  A sign for others to see your commitment to sacrifice, to bettering yourself, and to becoming a growing part of the body of Christ.