Lent, a Poem, and My Many Inadequacies

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Lent is a time of sacrifice. I don’t know about you, but self-denial has never come especially easy for me.

But I suppose that’s the point, isn’t it?

These forty days are a desert. A period of time set aside as preparation. We are preparing for the most awe-inspiring time of the year. Yes, Christmas is beautiful, but Easter? Whoa!

Everything , the Old Testament and the entire Gospel story , comes down to this. A King who comes to save His people… by dying? It was unexpected. Unheard of. Even those closest to Him couldn’t have known the fullness of what Jesus would endure to take His place upon the throne.

The suffering that He would experience…

An absolute agony

That caused Him to sweat blood in anticipation of what was to come.

As Catholics, we keep crucifixes.

Not empty crosses to emphasize the Resurrection, but a tortured Christ on the Cross to remind us of the cost of the debt paid. To remind us what LOVE looks like. To remind us that the path to Heaven is paved in blood.

His.

The martyrs’.

And ultimately our own.

Lent is a time of remembering Calvary.

And living our little bit of it here while we can.

So that we might taste the flavor of sacrifice

And learn how to unite our sufferings to His.

Not because He needs us to suffer,

But because through our suffering we come to know Him more fully.

I suffer poorly. I don’t give enough to charity. Most days my prayer is weak.

Lent illuminates my inadequacies.

And boy, is it good for my soul.

This evening I thought I’d share a poem. A little meditation on the cross. 

May you have a blessed Lent, my friend. 

“Holy Now”

I AM 

The thorns

Just a branch 

But they twisted me

Contorted me

Not the King

Oh, He weeps for me.

I AM

The crown

Holy now

I AM

Holy now

I AM

The tree 

Enduring and true

But they lowered me

Perverted me

Now the King

Oh, He clings to me.

I AM

The cross

Holy now

I AM

Holy now

I AM

The iron

Hardened and sure

But they pressured me

Pounded me

Now He sings

Oh, he screams for me.

I AM

The nail

Holy now

I AM

Holy now

I AM

The linen

I held Him

They let me

Envelop Him

Yes, the King

Oh, He breathes for me.

I AM

The cloth 

Holy now

I AM

Holy now