Be intentional about what the season of Lent offers us

Once again, the season of Lent is upon us. Wednesday, March 5, is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of this great penitential season in the Church. As a brief review, all Catholics who have achieved the age of 14 are obligated to abstain from eating meat and foods made with meat products on Ash Wednesday, every Friday of Lent and on Good Friday. All Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. This means that one is permitted to have one full meal and two smaller meals which, taken together, are not equal to your one full meal.
 
However, the annual celebration of the season of Lent gives each of us the opportunity to engage in a real, honest examination of life and conscience. What do I mean by that? What I mean is that we have the opportunity to honestly ask ourselves a few questions. First, do I take my Catholic faith seriously? This means that I keep my obligation to attend and participate at Mass on every Sunday and Holy Day. This means that I am faithful to my daily prayer before and after meals, my morning and evening prayers and praying for the living and dead. It means that I actually practice real and substantial charity toward those who are in need. It means that I practice a penance or sacrifice for the sake of my own soul and the souls of the faithful departed.
 
Another question we can ask ourselves is if I take my Catholic faith seriously, do I strive to live what I believe and share my faith with others? With all of the social issues of our day, do I study what the Catholic Church teaches concerning them? Do I defend my Catholic faith against the errors of our culture? In other words, am I an informed Catholic about my faith or do I remain silent in the face of attacks by others against the faith and the promoting of erroneous ideas about the Catholic faith and the Church?
 
The season of Lent is a graced period of time to renew and strengthen our faith and to fortify ourselves to live it better by imitating Jesus faithfully and by setting that good example of true discipleship for others.
 
To live this season of Lent we have to be intentional about what it offers us. I have to go to Mass. I have to go to confession. I have to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. I have to want to practice a real penance in order to free me from the attachments to things and free me to be attached to Christ. All of this is a sacrifice if we are willing to accept it but remember, the word sacrifice comes from two Latin root words meaning to do that which is holy. That is the purpose of Lent and that is what we should want to devote ourselves to as we prepare to celebrate the feast of our redemption, Easter.