Resolve

A month into the New Year and I have not kept my New Year’s resolution. That’s because I did not actually make one. I thought about it though.

Who has time to keep a resolution?! Tough enough just to have the resolve to keep up with daily demands. So how does that bode for the Season of Lent? Remember, Ash Wednesday will be here February 22^nd.

Lent is reminiscent of our Lord’s 40 days of fasting and prayer. For the 40 days of Lent, we are called to practice penance—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. That certainly requires resolve!

Prepare for Lent

Each time I think of Lent, I end up negotiating with myself. How can I work it into my daily routine? What can I do that’s not too difficult or distracting? If I give up chocolate, can I have a butter cookie instead?

What we do during this liturgical season is meant to draw us closer to our Lord; certainly not to lose sight of Him! So in preparing for Lent, time would be well-spent contemplating the Holy Eucharist. In the Eucharist we see our Lord’s loving resolve.

God wants to unite each one of us to himself, to give us his merciful love, and to accompany us on life’s daily journey. Therefore, our Lord comes to us in the Eucharist. Through this Blessed Sacrament, our Savior Jesus Christ offers us his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. What do we do in return?

Food for Thought

I confess, I grouse during Lent. What’s the point of it when the tendency is to fall back into old habits and vices after Lent? Oh, to relish the taste of chocolate after 40 days of abstaining from it! Do we relish the Holy Eucharist?

Christ, the living bread, is present to us. When we partake in the Eucharist, we feed on our Lord’s divine life and love. Do we really have an appetite for our Lord’s saving grace? For it is through the Eucharist, we consume God’s grace for eternal life.

Therefore, how willing are we to make sacrifices for the Eucharist? How much time are we willing to spend in Eucharistic Adoration? Do we go to Confession before receiving the Holy Eucharist? Our Lord gives us the gift of Himself in the Eucharist, do we give the gift of ourselves in return?

Strength for Our Resolve

Lent gives us the opportunity to focus on cleansing ourselves in body, mind, heart, and soul. Such cleansing clears the way for a deeper relationship with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Lent also is the time of spiritual preparation for the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. At Easter, and at each time we celebrate the Mass, our Lord’s sacrifice, crowned by the resurrection, is re-presented to us. Recalling these mysteries at Mass, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are offered God’s saving grace in the Eucharist.

The more we learn about the Eucharist, the more we realize and appreciate its purpose for our lives. The Eucharist augments our union with Jesus our Savior, separates us from sin, and strengthens our charity. Truly the Bread of Life nourishes us for our Lenten journey and all the days of our lives. Strengthening our resolve, by way of the Eucharist, we become more Christ-like in our daily living. Amen!