My favorite time of year is upon us. In one short week, Lent will be here, and we get a little melancholy as we make sacrifices and do penance for the continued conversion of our souls towards the abundant and infinite grace given to us by Jesus Christ. Being that my temperment is primarily melancholic, its like there is an entire season devoted to my personality. I love it!
Anyways, Lent is, for me, a reminder of what I’ve been through. For those who are converts you probably agree. Lent is the last leg of the journey into communion with Holy Mother Church. It is the last few weeks before the greatest moment of our lives takes place. Lent, being the barren desert that it is, reminds us of the personal struggle that has taken to get to this moment: the tears, the fights, the loneliness. It channels all of these things into the very heart of the Church’s life and gives them new meaning for us.
I will never forget the significance and the wonder of my first true Lent three years ago. My heart cries a little bit as I look at my beautiful sister who has had her own struggles as she has entered into the conversion process. She reminds me so much of what happened to me, and yet our conversions and journeys are completely different. And now she is about to enter the home stretch, and when Lent has passed and the Sacred Triduum culminates in the Easter Vigil, she will be fully Catholic. I am so very excited for her!
