So what about LENT? It’s About        Priorities It’s About        Priorities   It’s About        Priorities It’s About        Priorities                  L  ent, in some Christian denominations, is the forty-day-long liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter. The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the desert, where according to the Bible he endured temptation by Satan.  Different churches calculate the forty days differently. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer—through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial—for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Western Christianity (with the exception of the Archdiocese of Milan which follows the Ambrosian Rite), Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Holy Saturday. The six Sundays in Lent are not counted among the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter," a celebration of Jesus' victory over sin and death. The above is a brief synopsis on what Lent is and has come to be for many Christians. I pulled the above from wiki-pedia and, for a change, it is surprisingly accurate. So, there you have it. In February, we enter into this time of preparation, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on the Saturday before Easter. Have a lovely Lenten season! Oh wait, I almost forgot. This little article, and one like it that would sum up this liturgical season in a paragraph, have forgotten one important item. And that is the practice of giving something up for Lent. Now, that practice is a human- designed one that many people adhere to, but it is not simply about not eating chocolate or not drinking soda for six weeks. There is a theme there. What is it? Why, sacrifice of course! Yes, Lent is about introspection and preparation, but sacrifice is the main idea. What does sacrifice mean for us today? Well, giving something up can be a part of it, if that floats your boat. But I would say that maybe adding something spiritual might be more of a sacrifice for a lot of us. For instance, try adding fifteen minutes a day for prayer and reading. Try adding a couple of hours a week to go and feed homeless folks. Try adding church each week, regardless of who is in town, or your being a little tired. Try going to a mid-week Lenten service each week of Lent. All of these things are sacrifices, because they are not commonplace in our every day life. They are something that you normally would not do. Sacrifice is a primary theme of the Christian journey. After all, we are called to “die” to our old selves when we take Christ as our Lord. So, during this upcoming season of Lent, don’t go with the norm. It’s easy to give up soda because, frankly, you can just replace it with something else. But taking something on, giving of yourself, that is something that takes true sacrifice and focus. May we all focus this Lenten season on the journey toward the cross and ultimately the empty tomb. Christ sacrificed. We should a little bit, too. Blessings to you in the season of preparation.                         Jason     , .