On the brink of Lent.

It's easy for me to take Lent for granted. I have good intentions before it starts, but then it's Holy Week and I think, "What happened?" It goes fast.

So, while we have one night or, depending on when you read this, while it's still just Ash Wednesday, lets stop and think about some things we can do this Lent to get closer to our Lord.

At dinner today I was talking with a brother seminarian about giving things up and he asked a really convicting question: "Are you doing it for God or yourself?" So often, I think of things to "give up" that I think will be beneficial to me without thinking all that much about whether it will help me with the one relationship that matters most.

I hope this Lent is a good one for all of us. As we head out into the desert, let's try our best to make it a time of conversion - turning back to God. Every time that we desire something, whether it's a meat product or something we've given up, let's try to remember that what we really desire is God.

I'll be praying for you. Please pray for me.
Here's Matt Maher's "40 Days" to fire us up:

40 days to wander, 40 days to die to self
40 days to grow stronger as faith breaks open the gates of hell.
The Jubilee is over, but grace is far from gone
In the hearts of the faithful, broken on the wheels of love.

In the desert of temptation, lies the storm of true conversion,
where springs of living water drown and refresh you
And as the Jordan pours out change, your true self is all that remains,
where springs of living water bind and break you.

40 days to remember the Paschal sacrifice
40 days to discover as passion calls us to new life
The Jubilee is over but mercy is far from gone
In the arms of the Father as the wayward child comes home.