About Lent

The word “Lent” comes from the old English word lencten meaning “spring season.” But its earlier name, quadragesima (which is Latin for “fortieth”), better reflected the spirit of the holiday.  Lent is a solemn Christian observance of the forty-day-long fast Jesus underwent in the desert. Accordingly, the early Christians observed Lent by not letting a single bit of food into their body before sunset beside the Eucharist! That sounds crazy, yet people did that. I bet they saved quite a bit on their food bills.

While I’m not going to try to do that this year (although maybe as I grow in faith, I’ll give it a shot), I do want to challenge myself this Lenten season. Reading about these earlier Christians, I admit that I admire their dedication and am inspired. A good Christian is a master of self-discipline, and Lent is a good reminder of this.

I think a lot of people (including myself) find it difficult to follow the example of these early Christians because we have this idea that it’s okay to indulge. It’s okay to do things so long as you aren’t hurting anyone. And besides, you can’t control these desires you have, can you? But while there’s nothing wrong with being emotional and passionate, it’s our responsibility to channel these desires and passions positively. If we don’t, then we’ll end up hurting ourselves in the end.

Another thing we have to realize is that the virtues interrelate with one another. Someone who is just cannot be perfectly just without mercy. Someone who goes to church each week but neglects his family cannot be perfectly religious. Or, to give an example from my life, someone who is grateful to his mother but is too enthralled by the Internet and too undisciplined to follow her instructions cannot be perfectly grateful.

For this year’s Lent, I will make two promises. First, I will limit my free computer time to a half-hour per day. Outside of working on my blog, I will not spend my free time surfing the Internet. The dreaded wiki walk will haunt me no longer! With this, I will free up my free time to do something productive.

This leads me to my second Lenten promise – to fill those hours I would have used to goof off on the computer with prayer and fasting. Perhaps I can get my parents in on it. Praying as a family would make our prayer life a lot easier. In general, having other people join you in endeavors like this is helpful. Doing something good by yourself is hard, but with good company, anything is possible.

I want this Lent to matter. I want this Lent to help me grow in Christ. I hope that by the end of it, I’ll be a changed man. Maybe one closer to God.