If you’re wondering why you should even bother with Lent this year, consider this: the point of the season is to help us come closer to adopting the heart and mind of Jesus.
That would seem pretty elementary if you aspire to be Jesus-like leader.
And if that is your aspiration, it’s time to see Lent as an opportunity – not another hoop you have to jump through.
The traditions of Lent are designed to help prepare us to celebrate Jesus’ defeat of death for us at Easter and his Great Commission to us at his Ascension to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19).
The Church teaches us that the best preparation for developing a heart and mind like Jesus’ is threefold:
- Prayer,
- Fasting, and
- Almsgiving.
It presents us with a couple of compulsory practices related to fasting and abstaining from meat. But for the most part, it asks us to decide for ourselves how we are going to use the traditions of Lent to help us become more like Jesus.
If you haven’t settled on how you are going to use this season to bring yourself closer to the heart and mind of Jesus – and even if you have -- we hope you’ll consider some of the opportunities we provide in the accompanying article, “To stay on track, go on line.”