Don’t Waste Your Lent

Sin is not just breaking a rule. As Fr. Mark Baron, MIC explains, sin is ultimately a failure to find our fulfillment, perfection, and happiness in God. It is the restless attempt to grasp in created things what can only be received from the Creator. That is why Lent has to be more than “white-knuckling” giving up chocolate or powering through the next 40 days without social media. Those sacrifices can be good—but only if they are ordered toward love. Are we fasting to love God more? To desire Him more deeply? Or simply to prove to ourselves that we have the willpower to finish what we started? A Lent that ends with self-congratulation but no growth in faith, hope, and charity is a missed opportunity for grace. Yes, you can make it through Lent by giving things up. But the real question is whether your heart is being re-ordered toward God. If our sacrifices do not draw us closer to Him—if they do not increase our trust, our love, and our longing for the One who alone satisfies—then what is the point?