it's almost time

Believe it or not, Lent is just a week and a half away. We will prepare ourselves for the sacrifices of Lent with our Mardi Gras party next Sunday. But we need to be thinking about what we will do with this season.          
    
Lent is not intended to be an extended Good Friday. The purpose is not to beat ourselves up because we are such lousy sinners and we need to be punished for our awful behavior. Lent is a preparation for the entire Paschal Mystery of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and especially Easter. The Church intends Lent to be a time to deepen our relationship with God by focusing ourselves on prayer, fasting and almsgiving. 
    
The three great disciplines of Lent are intended to open our hearts in such a way that we can better receive the many graces of God and so that we can respond to His invitation to relationship with greater sincerity and commitment. 
    
We can think of Lent as a second honeymoon with our Sacred Spouse. It is a time to fall in love with Him even more than we already have and to love others with His great love.