Living a More Fulfilling Lenten Season
Lent is a solemn time of the year for Catholics all over the world. It is a season in which we give up things that are not necessarily in their nature sinful but are pleasing to us and may tempt us to turn away from God and so Lent is a time for us to give up things we like for the purpose of turning our eyes, minds, hearts and souls to God. It is more than just a season of abstaining from meats on Fridays, or giving up foods simply for your diet.
Diet is not the purpose of Lent; the purpose of Lent is to turn back to God. I hear the priest often repeat this in his homily. It cannot be stressed enough; many are not aware what Lent is about and they are not told about its meaning which goes far beyond just the season. In addition, Lent is not just about abstinence; it is a good time to pray more and go more to Confession and Mass. If possible it is a good time to give more alms.
Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Church Father, wrote that the "forgiveness of sins is most efficaciously prayed for with almsgiving and fasting, and supplications that are winged by such aids mount swiftly to God's ears" (cf. Sermon 16:2). Personally I have wanted to get more into tough with my own observance with Lent; I like the idea of getting more serious about the season, but I end up going about my normal routine: in particular I want to pray more.
It is easy when it comes to Christmas since it is about rejoicing and as such we party a lot, eat a lot and repeatedly hear about Jesus in the Nativity narratives, but that kind of enthusiasm is lacking in Lent, not because the Church erred, but because we find it hard to celebrate giving up something. This only makes Lent more purposeful as it challenges us to live a better Christian life to be more like Christ Himself who fasted in the desert for forty days.
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John grew up in a military setting, having moved to various places and was even baptized on a military facility in Germany in 1990, received First Confession and Holy Communion in Panama in 1998 and Confirmation in Florida in 2007.
John has been an active member of the Catholic Church since age 17, having been a member of his parish Youth Group and later the Young Adults’ Group, having helped plan Life Teen events and participate in skits.
In 2012, John became the activities coordinator of his local Catholic Campus Ministry at Francis Marion University. In 2014, he became president of the ministry for a short while until his graduation that year. As of present he volunteers as a CCD instructor for 3rd and 4th grade students at his local parish and is applying for a career in the Hispanic youth ministry in the local area.
Having five years of apologetics experience, John has learned plenty from other apologists such as the renowned Dr. Scott Hahn, Ph.D. He has not only improved on his apologetics skills but also knowledge of theology, making him well trusted in giving answers to both Catholics and non-Catholics about the Catholic faith from Scripture, Tradition, the Magisterium and logic. Loyalty to God and the Church is very important to him and hopes to emphasize this in his work.
