Lent is this great period of time where we rid our lives of all the unnecessary attachments that we clutter our lives with and focus more closely on our relationship with the Lord. It should be a time of simplification and purification. It should be a time of prayer, almsgiving and fasting. It should be a time of generosity, love and charity. It should be a time of sober self-reflection.

It should be a lot of things.

What will it be?

That’s up to me.

What am I going to put into it?

God gives us grace all the time. The thing is we have to respond to that grace which is offered. It is too easy to put something off for tomorrow or rationalize our way into spiritual laxity. We can justify all kinds of neglects and omissions, particularly when it comes to our own spiritual lives, because we don’t see that as being harmful to anyone. Then, we arrive at Easter, look back at our Lent and perhaps wish that we had spent more time in prayer, or done a few more acts of charity.

What is the main reason for a mediocre Lent? Poor planning. We need to set our goals in mind NOW and work NOW to make sure that we have a rhythm to our season. Praying is most consistent if you set aside a certain time and place — every day — when and where you pray. Lent needs to be for us not some onerous thing which we take upon ourselves for 40 days. Lent shouldn’t be seen as a kind of self-imposed slavery, but as a practicing in the life which we hope to have one day in Christ. A life where we are prayerful and loving of our brothers and sisters. A life where we truly live out the Gospel. God didn’t make us for slavery, and doing things which are pleasing to Him shouldn’t be seen as such. It’s just our sinful selves which distort the truth of reality and make us to see our unhealthy attachments as the path to happiness, when they are in fact leading us in the opposite direction.

So, my challenge to myself, and to you, if you choose to join me, is to map out our plan for Lent, so that we can reap all the graces our Lord is offering to us.

three wise men

Originally uploaded by SpacePotato

All: Make the Sign of the Cross.

Head of Household: “Peace be to this house, and to all who dwell here, in the name of the Lord.”

All: “Blessed be God forever.”

Reader: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things come to be through him, and without him nothing came to be….  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. ”  (John 1:1-3.14)

Using chalk, write on the outside of your house, above or next to an entrance:

(write the first half of the current year)
+20
Christus
Mansionem
Benedicat
10+
(write the other half of the year)

These words mean:  ”May Christ bless this house.”   (Each word could be written by a different member of the household.)

Or optionally you may use the names of the Magi:

(write the first half of the current year)
+20
Caspar
Melchior
Balthazar
10+
(write the other half of the year)

(Each name could be written by a different member of the household.)

All: Lord God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only begotten Son to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who inhabit it. May we be blessed with health, goodness of heart, gentleness and the keeping of your law. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our love for each other may go out to all. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Here’s a picture of some of the girls in the wardroom of the USS Mount Whitney, CORTRAMID 1997, Norfolk, Virginia (I’m at the far right):

For all my fellow military members, police forces, and government agents — thank you for fighting for and upholding our freedom and our laws.

For God, who gives us true freedom and independence.
And for all the clergy and holy men and women who teach us of our amazing inheritance, freedom, love and gifts given to each of us, personally, by the Lord. They teach us not only of the many ways in which God saves us from our slavery, but also of the ways in which we enslave ourselves. With His help, we can be truly free and live with a rightly ordered independence in His love and mercy.

As an aside, there are certain ethnic groups traditionally spotlighted today: the Polish people for the paczkis, and the Creole people with the huge Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans. As a little French girl with some Native American blood, I think that I should qualify as a Creole. :) At least for the party, right? :)

Please remember in your prayers today René LaMourt, a friend of mine who passed away just after returning from a deployment at sea, about 11 years ago on February 28, 1998. Please also pray for Sheri, a friend of a friend, who committed suicide last Thursday.

Laissez les bons temps roulez!

Outside of the Hallmark and pornography industry’s efforts to turn this into some sleazy, consumeristic day, I decided that the real intent of the holiday was to celebrate love. So, I endeavored to do just that. I was more consciously loving to my neighbors and more considerate of others. I bought presents for some friends. I went to Confession to reconcile myself to the one who is love. And in combination with carrying out my penance, I tried to act in a loving manner toward myself. I had some chocolate (in the form of an iced mocha) and some coffee-covered almonds (thank you, Starbucks). I rested from cooking duties and had a lovely dinner of Cheerios (see below post). I read 2 of my newly-acquired library books and made notes on one of them (as part of my penance). And I allowed myself to not feel pressured over what I did and did not get accomplished today. I even got to spend time with a good friend! :)

A pretty good Valentine’s day, as I see it. I hope that all of your Valentine’s days were also good and brought love into your life, in whatever form that took.

God bless you all!

And here is the conclusion, with Clint unwrapping his presents.  I am such a unique gift-giver, aren’t I?  :)

Evidently, my embedding isn’t working.  :(  So I will link instead to my YouTube site, where you can watch to your heart’s content!  :)

I don’t really think that it is possible to return to being a “civilian” after you have served.  It changes you, in a fundamental way.  Whether your tour of duty was long or short, you answered “Yes” to the call.  When you signed those (many, many) documents, you agreed to having some Amendment rights taken away, to the possibility of being called into battle on behalf of your country whether or not you agreed with the battle in question, to taking lives if necessary, and of giving your own life if necessary. 

These are not small promises.

There is a special bond, a fraternal community, built within the ranks of the military.  There are disagreements, rivalries, and people you just cannot stand; but that man or woman next to you, or across the oceans, is your brother or sister, and you know that when the time comes, they will have your back, just as you would have theirs.

Service.  This is not just a word.  This is a part of who we are.  Just as baptism makes us new creations, in a way, the military also transforms us in this service.  Not to say that I haven’t met my share of men and women who complain, whine and try to get out of work.  Certainly, there is that, too.  But, there is a spirit of self-giving, of acknowledgement of our commitment to offering ourselves as sacrifice, even if we are never asked to do this, which colors our life.

As we are all called to be a sincere gift of self for others and to love our God and our neighbor, I have seen within the ranks of the military a great example of this — a real pouring out of one’s talents, time, blood, sweat, tears, and resources for the good of others, even others we do not know or will never get a chance to meet.

I was not Catholic when I entered the Navy.  I was raised atheist.  But if you, today, look at my dog tags, they say on them “RC” for Roman Catholic, because when they asked me on the day that I in-processed at Boot Camp how I wanted to be buried if I died in service, that was my choice.  I have to see now that God was with me every moment of my life, whether I realized it or not.  And I am very thankful that He gave me this experience.

I think it is great that the saint we honor in today’s liturgy is St. Martin of Tours, who was a soldier before becoming a priest.  From the Magnificat, there are a bunch of things which spoke to my heart this day:

“In Saint Martin, you exchanged military weapons for the weapons of the Gospel:  — in all those who have died in military service, exchange suffering and death for life.”

Portion of Psalm 144:
“Blessed be the Lord, my rock
who trains my arms for battle,
who prepares my hands for war.”

Ephesians 6:12-13
“Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.”

May God bless all my fellow military members, keeping them safe and well and in His loving embrace.  And to all my friends from the Navy, and other branches of service — I love you guys!

In fond remembrance of René LaMorte, USN, called home to God after a 6 month deployment on the USS Eisenhower. We love you, Néné!