Each year we start out Lent with the best of intentions and with much
enthusiasm to accomplish a list of things to do or not do, building up to a
great Easter celebration. In reality, not everything we plan to do actually
gets done or survives the six weeks of Lent. Some things take a few years of
false starts before gaining the momentum to last the whole six weeks.
Well, don’t fret too
much over it, because the good thing about Lent is that you get a chance to try
it all over again every year. And the key is to keep trying Lent after Lent,
until you find what is realistic and works well with you and your family or
each member of the family. Even Peter, Jesus’ most devoted disciple got it
wrong, when he denied Jesus three times but yet after his repentance, went on
to fulfill Jesus’ promise to the people and to build-up His church. That is the
beauty of the love and grace of our God, he is ever-forgiving and accepts us
coming back to do it better, even if it is, a little at a time.
When your teen comes to
you and tells you with a sense of regret for not doing quite enough for Lent,
it is a response moving in the right direction and that next Lent there will be
an inner self-desire to do better. It is a little tricky working around the
schedules of each person in the family, to find a good time when everyone is
available in mind and spirit to gather for nightly prayers and reflections. What
matters most is that we have processed the reasons for doing what we want to do
at Lent and with visible reminders at home, the family can appreciate that we
have been given this “gift” of time at Lent, for us to take stock and do better.
If we view Lent as a time of suffering or a time that we grudgingly do our
penance and prayer, then when Easter comes around, we will go right back to our
old ways without realizing why we made a Lenten journey in the first place.
But let’s not stop at
Lent, even if we did not quite succeed in doing everything we planned, some
things or habits which we have developed during Lent, like attending daily
Mass, praying the Rosary, and doing away with snacking between meals, could be
something we would want to keep through the rest of the year.
So, with whatever was
done or not done at Lent, don’t be disheartened from celebrating the whole
reason for Easter – Jesus who died for our sins resurrected from the dead so
that we too may have Eternal Life in him - Jesus’ Resurrection is Good News and
we become people of great hope. A people gifted with Easter Hope that things
can only get better! Alleluia!
