Memento Mori

Hello there!

I’m back after an unplanned sabbatical. What with a family vacation, hosting company, a wedding, sickness sweeping through our house and hosting more company, time once again slipped by and blogging got left on the back burner.

Now here we are: One second it was the Christmas season then in the blink of an eye, here we are, staring down the 40-day barrel of Lent, the solemn words ‘remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return’ reminding us that life here is fleeting and eternity is waiting.

Easter is my favorite holiday. I love it so much. And so I’m always a bit excited when Lent arrives even though Lent is long and kind of gray. It’s always a much needed reset in my life, the grace of the season providing the strength I need to make the important changes that my soul needs. This year especially, I feel ready for the challenge.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to approach Lent this year, too, what penances I’d like to do, what prayers and devotions to say, etc., and I realized that I want this Lent to be the start of lasting change in my life. Not just giving up something I enjoy like coffee or social media, (though those are good things to give up) but really incorporating some discipline and habits that can shape my whole year, maybe my whole life. Habits that will lead me closer to God, which is the whole point.

I’m a wife and a mother, and so the things I choose to do and the way I order my home affects everyone around me, for good or bad. Being a wife and mother is my vocation and the path to my sanctification, but the devil is good at making the important things seem trivial. I often find myself trying to find the “real” way to become a saint and overlooking the often boring, tedious and patience-wearing tasks of daily life. But that’s my path to holiness. Being a good wife and being a good mother. And that’s where I fail the most.
So for this Lent I’m examining what pulls me away from my vocation the most and what habits I need to change in order to create a home that will help everyone who lives here to grow in holiness.

I want to be faithful in these little things so that when I die I can hear Christ can tell me:
“Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord”. Matthew 25:21

This sermon was extremely helpful for me in preparing for Lent so I thought I’d share it here in case you’re interested.

Also, I suggest that you take the time to write down your Lenten resolutions and read over them every morning during your morning prayers and renew your desire for a fruitful lent each day. If it helps, have an accountability buddy. 😉

Since I dropped the ball at the beginning of February regarding the prayer of the month, I’ve decided to use the same prayer through all of Lent and the Anima Christi just seems like the perfect choice.

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within thy wounds hide me.
Suffer me not to be separated from thee.
From the malicious enemy defend me.
In the hour of my death call me
and bid me come unto thee,
that with thy saints I may praise thee
for ever and ever. Amen.

As usual, don’t forget to write down your three intentions! Unite them to your Lenten penances. This time of year is so spiritually rich, do your best not to waste it!

And lastly, let’s pray for each other! The main point of this blog is to help foster prayer groups after all. If you have a prayer request, post it here and we can all remember it in our intentions.

Lent, here we go!

God Bless,
Amy