Palm leaves transform into smoke and ashes,
Leaving nothing but tears in my eyes.
Fronds first laid in growth and glory,
Now reside elsewhere and alone.
Banners of Your welcome
Have become the cloth on Your cross.
You would do that for me?
Suffering with a kiss,
Sold out for silver among the trees.
Friend became foe,
But You never fought with violence.
Swords and thorns surround You
As you suffer on Your cross.
You would do that for me?
Surrounding myself with Your grace,
Blanketing the cold and feeding the hungry.
Facing my own sins in Your name,
In the face of Your sacrifice I will do the same.
Hands raised to the sky,
I cry out to you, “Thank You, I’m sorry.”
I would do anything for You.
The devilish mind of man
Working in tandem with physical hands
The light of the world still there, but dim
An all too real reality in which we live in
God’s graces suppressed
By things we feel are real
The streams of lies are thick in hope
While true teachings are made a joke
The holy blood spilled for our salvation
Only for us to still turn to damnation
An Angel on our shoulder we fail to see
Just the demons we choose to feed
However God always finds, deep inside, the good that still resides
To cast all evil aside
To have his only Son lay down and die
To cast my soul on fire
With that very salvation in mind for us
Saved us from the pain
Whilst we say His name in vain
Save us from disdain
Feeling as though we are unworthy
Save us from the corruption of this physical world
To feel the relief of the heavenly realms
All we have to do prevent earthbound torment is repent
God will forgive
The Season of Repentance and Waiting
During the season of Lent, some main pillars we should focus on are fasting, repentance, and most importantly anticipating the fulfillment of the Paschal Mystery. Why is Lent so important to us? Lent is the anticipation of the most unfathomable miracle, the Resurrection. The fulfillment of the Scriptures, the miracle beyond human comprehension is what we as faith-filled people strive for. Throughout Lent, people receive the sacrament of repentance, increase their prayer life, doing so to grow closer and hold the Eucharist close to their heart. In life, we often are weighed down by despair, hopelessness, and much more.
When we receive Christ in the Sacraments, we have to call to mind the sacrifices he made for us. Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God carried the heaviest burden on his shoulders, the cross. These 40 days of prayer, repentance, and fasting should instill in our hearts the true fulfillment of the Resurrection. During this time, we should give more of ourselves, and make sacrifices.
Generosity will take you far in the Lenten Season, as my Theology teacher Mr. Palcisko says; “the greatest gift of giving, is giving of oneself.” Everyone should give of themselves, whether that be paying it forward, spending more time with family, or even donating your time to an organization. It is important to sacrifice yourself to understand the importance of what Our Savior has fulfilled. Giving of yourself, when the Resurrection comes you will be enlightened and will flourish by the greatest miracle known to mankind.
Lent. Most of the time when other Christians hear this word, they immediately think about having to give something up for forty days. Whether this be giving up sweets, junk food, or a particular bad habit, I feel like the real reason for giving up these foods or items that are important to us seems to sometimes get lost in the process. Although those are all good things to take a break from, to me Lent is about trying something new/changing my ways to grow closer to God and take a break from an earthly barrier that has been wedged between me and Him. Anything, including pop or technology, could potentially become one of these barriers, but I feel that it is important to examine why we are choosing a particular item to fast from. Besides fasting, there are other ways to make a sacrifice for God during Lent as well, such as changing your prayer or Biblical life directly or giving up your time and resources to provide for the poor through almsgiving. As a teenager, it makes it a little more difficult to sacrifice financially, but the prayer and fasting options are great ways for us to strengthen our relationship with the Lord.
When I was a little kid, I never really pain much attention to the Lenten season. I never gave anything up, and continued to live my life how I would any other time. Over the last couple of years since I have entered high school, however, I have realized what Lent is really about and why I should be trying much harder to take advantage of this time to work on my individual faith life. This year, I am going to try to focus more on my Bible reading plan while I am at home because this is something that I have struggled with due to distractions. I also want to work on expanding my overall prayer time each day so I can have more conversations directly with the Lord. Nothing is wrong with taking a temporary break, but my goal is to turn these temporary choices into practices that I will continue to do throughout the rest of my life. That way, this time next year I will have to come up with some other way to sacrifice for the Lord!
A Different View
As sin clouds our hearts,
The light seems far away,
Our hope fades and departs,
To our inner demons we fall prey.
But even stronger than our pain,
Is an ember that never dies,
And though our efforts seem in vain,
He helps us shatter the Devil’s lies.
In Lent we pass the torch to God,
And let him guide the way,
Because when we feel our faith is flawed,
He proves He’s here to stay.
40 days to fast and pray,
A time to spiritually renew,
Because through Him there’s always a way,
To see the world from a different view.
For a vast number of people, Lent would not be considered one of their favorite parts of the liturgical year. After all, this season can be incredibly difficult as it challenges people to reevaluate their spiritual lives and make sacrifices to bring them closer to the Lord--tasks that are not always appealing to the majority of Catholics.
However, I have always appreciated Lent and regarded it as a beautiful time of growth and reflection. Lent can be a wonderfully humbling experience, as it allows people to reflect on what aspects of their lives are preventing them from obtaining a stronger relationship with God. It then prompts them to actively remedy those shortcomings through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Through these powerful acts of repentance, people are striving to nurture their spiritual lives in ways that will endure long after the Lenten season passes. Most importantly, a renewing and meaningful Lent allows Catholics to participate more fully in the joyous celebration of Easter.
Throughout Lent, people carry their own personal crosses--aspects of their lives they hope to improve upon, such as being rude to others or not praying as often as one should. By carrying our own personal crosses during these 40 days, we are able to connect in a special way to Jesus’ journey while carrying his. Thus, after triumphing over our personal struggles, we are more equipped to share in Christ’s glorious victory on Easter.
The Sacrifice
The sun was still shining when they condemned you,
And I often wonder how you could be someone I look up to.
How perfection can somehow be desired,
Despite the obvious flaws my soul has acquired.
The wind was still blowing when you took up that cross,
I don’t believe we knew that you would be such a loss.
I don’t think we fathom those we miss,
Until they're gone with death’s sweet kiss.
The birds were still chirping when you fell down,
I don’t think we expected the fall of your thorny crown.
I suppose we could not imagine perfection failing,
Since all the women in the street were wailing.
The flowers were still growing when your mother knelt,
And I wonder what she thought when she beheld your welts.
I always find myself sobbing at this part,
Because even I, childless, feel the pain of a mother’s heart.
The trees were still swaying when Simon bared the weight with you,
It's often the kindness of strangers that is the most true.
Did you still consider Peter a friend,
Despite him not staying till the end?
The fish were still swimming when Veronica wiped your face,
And I wonder what she thought when she beheld your imprinted grace.
It is hard to imagine you so broken,
As if all the words you said could have gone unspoken.
And you fell.
The waves still crashed when you spoke with the women,
Your own body, bloody and matted with linen.
No one could see where your flesh ended and cloth began,
And you were such a humble man.
And you fell.
The children were still being born as your clothes were ripped away,
How consoling to hear a baby's cry on judgement day.
I truly can not imagine the shame,
And why did it have to be you to take the blame?
The world shook with the bang of the hammer,
As the nails were drilled in, the world was enamoured.
We all felt guilty, and we still do,
Yet is your love deserving when we aren't good to you?
The world stopped.
It did not move.
As your body grew still,
The world disapproved.
As the earth shook and fear reigned down,
So were you, as your friends gathered ‘round.
The day grew dark and the night somehow colder,
They covered you in linen and hid you with a boulder.
And the days that followed were the darkest,
And evil seemed to be starkest.
Yet when you arose,
On that Easter day, that was when I chose,
To follow a man who leads with love,
Whose power surpasses all and comes from above.
To the one who made the ultimate sacrifice,
Praise be ever your name, Jesus Christ.
Lenten Reflection
There are three aspects of our faith that Catholics are called to participate in year round: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
We call special attention to these practices during the Lenten season as we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Risen Lord. Despite our knowledge of what each of these practices are, many times we lack a deeper understanding of how each practice can deepen our understanding of the Resurrection.
Prayer-
Prayer can take various forms (praise, petition, intercession, thanksgiving). Regardless of the types of prayers we use, prayer is our way of communicating with God, and how God can communicate back to us. A time of prayer that perhaps many of us can relate to is Jesus' call to God the Father as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. "Abba, Father… not what I will, but what you will" (Mark 14: 36). As Jesus suffered, He drew closer to the Father and called out to Him. Following Jesus' passion, God glorified His son. The same thing applies to us in our lives, as there are moments that we face hardship, we too can call out to Him. It is important to remember in such instances that when we sacrifice, our action becomes prayer, and that prayer our communication with God.
Perhaps this Lenten season we can recognize our moments of turmoil as we call out to God and await the glory that is to come.
Lord,
Please help me to draw closer into prayer with you this Lenten season. Teach me to draw closer to you by listening for your calls to me in my life.
Fasting-
Fasting is often seen as saying no to a certain practice, however the reality is that fasting is an opportunity to grow into a new yes. This can be seen in the Gospel stories as Jesus fasted in the desert and refrained from drinking wine after the Last Supper. Jesus refrains from eating and drinking wine because He recognizes that He must prepare himself for an eternal feast. Fasting is intended to remind us that the things of this world are fleeting and thus we, as a Christian people, must hold the hope of joining in the eternal banquet.
Perhaps this Lent we can find something to refrain from and give that time to God. In making even the smallest sacrifices, we draw closer to Christ who mounted a cross to redeem us.
Lord,
Please help me to draw closer to you in my acts of sacrifice for others. Teach me to give of myself this Lenten season.
Almsgiving-
Almsgiving, or giving to the poor and needy, is not always the most highlighted among these three objectives. Nevertheless, it is just as important as we are all called to give of what we have. It is important to understand that giving of ourselves is not necessarily a monetary donation, but a donation of time, talent and treasure. When we give of ourselves in this way, we imitate the love Christ showed us on the cross. Perhaps this Lent, we can find one or a few ways to contribute to our communities, especially our school communities, donating ourselves to the service of others.
Lord,
Please help me to draw closer to you as I give of myself to both the physically and spiritually poor of my community. Teach me to draw closer to you in my donation of time, talent, and treasure.
As we await the joy that the Easter season brings, let us remember to pray, fast, and give alms to honor the present Lenten Season.
Purple Scarf
On a hill high above the ground,
Below people are safe and sound,
Drifts a purple scarf in the wind.
There on the wood,
Everything was not all good,
Still, it sways in the breeze.
The wooden beam,
Has nails that gleam,
The linen wraps around.
Soon * the masses come,
To see what has begun,
They come from the town below.
The rich and the poor,
The pious and the impure,
They gather on Calvary.
The body on the pine,
Is both human and divine,
He saved us from ourselves.
Some of the women start to weep,
The man on the wood is reaped,
His palms and soles seep red.
The skeptics sowed the seeds,
With their faithless deeds,
For the death of an innocent man.
With his death,
Everyone holds their breath,
The scarf drifts no more.
The royalty on the cross,
Is laid across,
In a tomb made of stone.
On the cross there’s linen,
All the sins are wrapped in,
The purple scarf of repentance.