My Daily Musing

   It is the third Sunday of Lent. We have been walking the Lenten journey for two and a half weeks already. If we are doing our job appropriately, we should be able to see some kind of change within us.
   The operative word in the previous sentence, of course, is the word “if”.
   The sad truth is that for many people Lent is the same thing year in and year out. They are no different this year than they were last year or the year before. They will be no different next year or the year after.
   Why?
   Because they do not embrace the call of the season, the call of the Lord, to repentance, change, and growth.
   For many people, Lent is filled with “have-to’s”. People feel that they have to give something up. They have to perform a work of penance. They have to do something charitable.
   Why?
   Because it is a part of the season, it is expected, it is a have-to.
   With that kind of attitude, it is very predictable what happens the very moment Lent is finished, right?
   The have-to’s get “put into the box” until next year.
   The things that were done over the season were not things that effected any kind of change because the person did not look at the reason for doing the things that were accomplished.
   IF Lent is to make any difference in our lives this year, we must come to the end of Lent as changed people.
   The things that we have incorporated into our lives — the works of penance, charity, and mercy — must remain a part of ourselves. We must be a bit more holy at the end of the season versus the kind of people we were when we began the season.
   Then, next year, being the new creation that we are this year, we can examine even more areas in our lives that need to be changed, opportunities for spiritual growth.
   Then, if we embrace Lent next year properly, we will be even more holy at the end of that season and prepared to delve even deeper the following Lent.
   Lent, as every day of our lives, is an ongoing opportunity to change, to be different, to become more holy.
   I implore you to take every opportunity to embrace holiness during the remainder of the season of Lent. Let the season speak to you in ways that will make you a different person, ready to tackle the next task in life that the Lord has prepared for you.
   God’s blessings to you and yours!