Lent is upon us and I hear people talking about avoiding meat and what they are giving up. These are nice gestures, but they seem to often be more about habit and ritual than honoring Jesus and the ultimate sacrifice He made for us.
Lent honors our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s 40 days of fasting in the desert which culminated in a mini showdown between He and Satan. The Father allowed Jesus to be tempted by Satan. But Jesus faced and defeated these temptations temporarily sending the devil packing.
Jesus went on with his ministry which he knew full well was a 3 year march to the cross to suffer and die, then rise gaining victory over evil. This allows us the opportunity at eternal life in Heaven despite our sins.
The father gave Jesus the same free will He gives us. Jesus could have called it off at anytime.
But He loves us so much that He willingly dropped every bit of his blood and bodily water defeating Satan on our behalf. Good Friday represents Christ’s torturous crucifixion. Easter Sunday represents His glorious Resurrection (it is actually the start of a season from the Resurrection to Pentecost).
So, do you think having a tuna sub every Friday and giving up cookies for 40 days is enough to honor that? We can’t match His sacrifice, but I have a better idea.
Go to confession, and start going to Mass every Sunday. If you are not Catholic, repent in your own way and start going to church every Sunday.
Here come the excuses and rationalizations attempting to justify the laziness and neglect (I used to make them too). I will address some of the most common ones.
1-“God is everywhere, so why do I have to go to church to speak with Him?” True! God IS everywhere. His 4th Commandment tells us to keep holy the Sabbath. It’s a commandment, not a suggestion.
Jesus says if we do not eat His flesh and drink His blood we do not have life in us. You cannot order up the Eucharist at your local drive-through.
2-“The pedophilia and sex scandals turn me off.” They Should! I hate that I have been put on the defensive as a Catholic. These wolves in sheep’s clothing should spend the rest of their lives in a cell.
If someone was a direct or indirect victim of this, I could understand this rationale. However, the majority of lax-Christians were not victims and the majority of priests, preachers and rabbis (no, not only the Catholic Church has had this problem) did not partake in this even though the Satanic media would love for you to believe otherwise.
Aside from that, why would you let these scumbags drive you out of God’s House? That’s an awful lot of power to give to some deranged perverts. The only thing you are doing is allowing Satan to drive you further from God.
The truth is if you really look inward, this is just and excuse to justify laziness. Do you refuse to watch a Woody Allen movie? Do you change the radio station every single time a Michael Jackson song comes on? Do you refuse to watch a Penn State game even if they are playing your team?
3-“I just don’t have time to get to church.” If you are a cop or nurse working a weekend shift that goes from Saturday night through Sunday you are absolved.
If on the other hand you have time to go out, shop, attend sporting events, etc., you have time to give the Lord and hour.
4-“I just don’t get much out of it and I find it boring.” The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it.
Yes, Mass can get boring at times. I don’t think Jesus was having a blast carrying that big heavy cross up the hill all beaten and dehydrated before being nailed to it. But He did it anyway.
So, when Mass gets boring just take some solace in the fact that you are making Jesus happy. He does everything for us. We can’t grin and bare an hour?
The Mass is Jesus banquet that he invites us to every week. Let me give you a hypothetical.
Let’s say you saved a friend’s life, then invited him over for dinner every weekend. In response, that friend had an excuse every single week for blowing off your invitation. Would you not get a bit insulted?
Then why would you want to disrespect your Savior with these weak-ass excuses? So, while it’s nice to avoid ice cream for 40 days, you and Jesus will get a lot more satisfaction from a weekly visit. Talk soon.
-Marksman