The Necessity of Lent
By Jenna Kandas
Recently, I heard a homily where the priest focused on the ancient Jewish ritual of offering the best/first fruits to God. For example, the best animal (one's unblemished lamb) would be sacrificed as an offering back to God, or the first fruits of a crop were burned as an offering. This was done because without God's abundance, these crops or animals wouldn't exist -let alone belong to them.
I began thinking about whether I currently offer my first fruits to the Lord every day. Namely, did I offer the first moments of my day in prayerful gratitude for waking up? Speak a few quick prayers throughout the day in awe of the two children He gave me and to implore His protection over them? The answer, I quickly discerned, was no. Ultimately, God is the one who equipped me with talents and interests, blessed me with a wonderful husband and family, and yet, I do not thank Him for this life I live.
I realized that it is easy for me to be filled with gratitude during the holidays: loved ones visit from afar, celebrations fill every weekend, and life can feel so good. Then, the New Year suddenly hits and my sense of gratitude leaves just as quickly as my resolutions. The daily grind wears me down, and instead of stopping to say “thank you,” I have a whole list of expectations I have presented to the Lord. It seems as though after spending the holidays with gratitude, I hastily move on with my life, not realizing that these blessings occur daily. They are not a one time thing. Having healthy children is a blessing. Having the energy to make dinner and the time to enjoy eating it with my husband is a blessing. All of these blessings I tend to overlook in spite of my best attempts.
And now, if you're anything like me, you've already begun the yearly lamentation about Lent and how burdensome it is. (Sidenote, My husband loves listening to my annual rant.) This year, though, the timing of the homily about giving God our first fruits coincided with my rant and fostered a change of heart that can only be credited to the Holy Spirit. I realized that Lent is necessary in order for me to arrive joyfully at Easter Sunday. If I didn't walk through the dry valley of Lent, sacrifice and all, then I would not be fully present to marvel at the miracle of Easter.
If I continued to live throughout the Lenten season as though it was Ordinary Time, and feasted on whatever my heart *falsely* desired then come Easter, I would be full. My heart would be so distracted with shiny, worldly goods, that it would not even notice the piercing bright light of the Resurrected Lord. My overindulgent heart wouldn’t be longing for the Light of the Savior because it would be blindly focused on the temporal and not prepared to receive the grace of the Resurrection.
Obviously, I need Lent. I need to be forced (within the bounds of my free will, of course) to reprioritize my life and sacrifice a little, so that my eyes may be opened to the simple yet bountiful blessings that I am constantly surrounded by.
Lent is a season of cultivation, so that by Easter, I can proudly stand before the Risen Lord and say "Here. Here are the best blessings of my life. I recognize that YOU gave them to me, and though I am not worthy to receive them, I thank You for each one of them, and humbly give them to You so that Your will may be done." My prayer for us all this Lent is that our hearts may be softened, in able to acknowledge and offer our blessings back to Lord, so that come Easter Sunday, we are all ready and willing to receive the grace of His Resurrection.
