Lent: A Love Letter from the interim editor

By now you’ve probably had your share of king cake. Your home is probably full of purple green and gold, and your cupboard has a dozen new plastic cups that will inevitably go missing over the next few months. There may still be a box of king cake on your counter (with the knife in the box, this is the way). It’s easy to feel like Mardi Gras is “the most wonderful time of the year” in Louisiana. If Mardi Gras is the peak of Louisiana living, what does that make the season to follow? When most people think of lent they think of ashes and fish, self-denial and sacrifice. Lent is a season of preparation, a season of meditation on the sacrifice Christ made on the cross for our salvation. What if, at the same time, lent can also be a season of love? I urge you to take some time as we enter into this most holy season of preparation to think of how you can use this precious time to turn towards the love of Christ. When deciding what your Lenten sacrifice should be, take time to meditate on the love of Christ and choose only sacrifices that will bring you closer to the Lord. Fasting, prayer, and almsgiving are the pillars of Lent. I pray you find a way to engage in all three this Lent.

My favorite ways to include prayer and almsgiving into my Lenten journey? I’m always a fan of Fr. Mike Schmitz’s podcasts, with both his Bible in a Year and his new Catechism in a Year podcast. Adding daily Mass once a week is another great opportunity to deepen your faith life. I love attending school Mass on Fridays at St. Joseph Church in Shreveport.

For almsgiving I like to first contemplate the needs of my diocese and how to increase my weekly giving, and then I like to pray and consider what Catholic-Affiliated Charities are on my heart. Personally I always like to support the Archdiocese of the Military Services as that’s where I was baptized. Maybe consider a gift to the church where you were baptized?

As we prepare for this season of lent I hope you’ll take pause to consider the great love of God. Love and Lent are not incongruent. So maybe lent is a time you think of with pangs of hunger, the grit of ashes on your forehead, and more fish fries than you would ever reasonably need…but I hope in your reflection and prayer you take pause to also consider the love. The love of our Savior and his sacrifice on the cross. The love of our beautiful Faith. The love that is making a fervent dedication of your heart to our Lord and Savior.

PS- Yes, it’s a new Kirsten as interim editor. I am honored to have the opportunity to help the Diocese of Shreveport bring you this month’s edition of the Catholic Connection!