Perhaps the headline should have read, “I’ve never been more in need of Lent.” Not that I’m a raging sinner these days — I’m not exactly the 30-year-old Stephen Kruiser — but I am still rather laden with imperfections and I’m glad Ash Wednesday has arrived.
What prompted me to write this, however, is the current state of affairs here in the United States of America. For those of us not participating in the mass leftist delusion, these are somewhat demoralizing times to have to read the news every day for a living. There are many ways to mitigate the emotional toll it can take. My main go-to method is to simply not have too many feelings in the first place.
Still, there are days when I wake up, remember that Joe Biden is in the Oval Office, and am overwhelmed by the urge to dive into a pool that’s filled with potato vodka.
The fasting and penitence of Lent are the drivers of spiritual renewal. The season gives me the perfect reason to focus less on the temporal world while looking inward and beyond. I do pray every day, but a 40-day reminder to pray even more is just what I need at the moment. I’ll still be reading and writing about the news just as much, but my time away will be better focused on things that wash away that kind of negativity.
I usually like to do something positive rather than give something up but this year I’m doing both. I’m off the beer until Easter and I’ve got some heavy spiritual reading to do. I’m also going to go to Mass at least once during the week as well as on Sunday.
I may not have the luxury of retreating to a hermitage at a monastery and get away from the news completely, but this will still be a huge blessing.
Who knows? I may revisit the monk thing when it’s all done.
