Lent Gives us the Chance to Prepare for Heaven, not just Easter

Each year we begin our journey through Lent on Ash Wednesday, which we celebrate this upcoming Wednesday with 2 Masses at 8:30 and 7 p.m., along with an Ash Service at 5 p.m. As the ashes are placed on our forehead, we are reminded to “repent” and to believe in the Gospel, or to remember that we shall one day return to dust.

While not a holy day of obligation, it’s an important day to think about how all around us turns to dust one day. Our culture does quite a bit to forget about death and mortality entirely. It’s not fun to think about nursing homes or hospice, or aging – rather “live for today” can be a mentality. So, too, do we justify things in our lives that need to change; some are sinful and we’ve just grown accustomed to them, others diminish us from reaching our potential.

But if we dig a little bit deeper, we find that Ash Wednesday and the Lenten journey are in fact moments of hope, or maybe a better way to put it is preparing us to be a people of hope, faith and love. Ashes represent something that once was; the palms from last Palm Sunday, which turn brittle quickly much like the people who held them and cried “Hosanna” to our Lord, only to walk away from Him quickly. We can do the same thing through our sins. We can often talk the talk, but not walk the walk. And that’s where Lent comes in.

Just as the ashes represent something that once was, so too can we, when we do Lent right, look back come Easter on things in our life that once were, that are now turned to ashes. So how should we prepare for the journey to Easter, but at a deeper level to that moment when we’ll stand before God?

For one we can pray. One of my obligations as a priest is to pray daily the “Liturgy of the Hours,” a series of prayers and readings that clerics and religious pray. They were actually re-designed a bit after Vatican II in hopes more laity would use them too. They are a beautiful prayer, but I appreciate the “obligation” part with them because frankly, I find time flies. I get busy, and on my off time, I often get in the car and go chase birds with my camera and get home late, and it would be so easy to say “my work is my prayer” or “I offer Mass.” We all lead busy lives. Most of us aren’t obliged to pray daily, but it’s so important to get in this habit. Maybe you’ve let prayer slack a bit. Consider using Lent to do more spiritual reading, to put more time into prayer, and to make that a daily habit that you don’t stop come Easter but make a way of life. Of course if you’ve been away from Mass or skipping some weeks, get in the habit of coming weekly, as it helps us so much on our lifelong journey to grow closer to God and to know His love. Stations of the Cross also take place on Friday evenings and are a wonderful Lenten devotion as we ponder God’s love for us. As I’ve said before, if you love someone you get to know them, and God loves us so much we need to return that to Him, and a big way that happens is through prayer.

Another good practice during Lent is to re-evaluate our time and what we do with it. What in our lives needs to change? Lent is a good time to go to confession, and also to do a good look at our lives and think a little more deeply. What have we let go a bit? How are our relationships with our families? What is in our heart in terms of loving our neighbor? Doing some digging, and we might find that perhaps there are things we just don’t think about, like how we treat people, the things we look at on the computer, phone or TV, or lifestyle choices that have become a problem. We know there are some things – called sins – that need to go for good. But other times giving something up can lead to better life changes. Perhaps giving up on extra food or sweets can lead to a long term healthier lifestyle; or giving up doing something we enjoy (say an hour of video games) can lead us to spend more time with family. I think when thinking about this it’s good to ask “how can a simple change in my life benefit me more as a person in making me better?”

Finally Lent is a great way to be charitable with our treasure but also our time. Time is such a great gift. It goes so quickly, and we can become such busy bodies that we don’t make time for one another. Consider using Lent to make more time for family, or to visit relatives, especially those who may not be able to leave their homes or who are in a nursing home, or look for ways to consider volunteering of your time. The gift of time can do so much to brighten the life and spirits of people, and also in the process make us better people too.

Ash Wednesday isn’t an opportunity for us to get some ashes and have people notice us so we can strike up a conversation and announce that we went to Mass, or to point out to others what we’ve “given up” this or that to inflate our egos. It’s an opportunity to hit the “reset” button, to look at our lives and say “where am I going? Who am I trying to become? What needs to change not for these 46 days” (the 40 days exclude Sundays) but for the rest of my life? How can I become a better person to my loved ones?

Just as the season takes us into spring and life comes alive in the world around us outside, may the same thing happen in our souls as we journey towards Easter.

Have a very blessed Lenten Journey!

Fr. Paul

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February 2025