Lent is two weeks old and I hope everyone is still on the wagon. I haven’t had a french fry … yet.
This was the first Lent I was able to take part in during a New Orleans Mardi Gras, and what a time it was. Shout out Endymion!
Lent is the 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday when observing Catholics fast as Jesus did in the desert, excluding Sundays. Some also take more time out of their day to pray, attend Stations of the Cross and abstain from meat on Fridays.
In Louisiana, abstaining from meat means enjoying fried catfish, BBQ shrimp from The Chimes and, for those who live in Northeast Louisiana, going to Cormier’s for crawfish every Friday.
Lent can be more than just observing the rules and holding them as important, it is also a time to focus on ways to better one’s life.
Millennials are used to people crying out about our overindulgence of social media. Many of the complaints about social media use are of no concern, but I do think we should pause and think about how it can encourage greed, vanity and gluttony.
The Seven Deadly Sins and their compatriots hold us back from our better selves, and Lent is a special time to focus on these issues.
Fasting has made me a healthier, more disciplined person. I drink far less soda than I once did after fasting from it for Lent about 10 years ago.
Setting aside specific times for prayer, finding time to attend weekly Mass and simply remembering to say grace before meals are all simple goals to set during Lent.
Speaking publicly about your steadfast belief in Christ may not be in vogue or particularly popular, and people may feel the Church holds nothing for them, especially with endless negative stories on child abuse scandals.
I counter this line of thinking with a real-life example of someone who I believe is the best representation of Catholicism — Pope Francis.
The Pope held Mass at the Mexican-U.S. border to address the abject despair present there. He washed the feet of the disfigured and a Muslim woman prisoner in Rome, and he spoke out on global climate change.
He has made it clear that “Christians have an obligation to be visible, clear, brilliant signs of hope.”
During this Lenten season, I sincerely hope we all use this time to improve in areas where we lack and sustain positive growth to carry us through the rest of the year and beyond.
Garrett Hines is a 21-year-old political science senior from Monroe, Louisiana.