Saturday, March 22
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).
This is an excellent message for our Lenten season! Five years ago I was expecting to be fully entered in the Catholic Church by Easter. I say fully, since I got baptized as an infant but never received the other sacraments. Cut back to March 2020, when I learned the Easter mass was canceled. Instead of entering then, I had to wait until fall of 2020. I still carried out the practice of giving something up for Lent. Christ sacrificed his life for us, so it is small but meaningful to sacrifice our favorite things for him. I have experimented with different things ever since I started sacrificing for Lent.
I typically cut out my favorite snacks. Two years ago, I also stopped listening to secular music throughout Lent. It became truly fruitful. I felt more connected to the virtues that Jesus wants us to have, such as patience and gentleness. While not all secular songs are distasteful, they tend to have cuss words or speak of things contrary to Catholic teachings. The secular idea of friendship and love is also different from the Catholic viewpoint. Listening to gospel music can help all of us become better disciples of Jesus!
This Lent season, I wish to add weekly adoration. At the start of this year, I underwent certain trials. It was tough to handle at first, so I started going to adoration more often. When I realized that while I was balancing multiple crosses, I was also spending more time in adoration, which was helping me grow as a Catholic. I deliberately set out to keep up the habit. I have felt more at peace with handling my crosses while also figuring out the type of person God wants me to be. The silence of being in an adoration chapel is useful for truly focusing on holy matters. While removing sinful habits is important, adding spiritual actions is also crucial. Life is about trying to make it to sainthood. In order to do so, we must keep striving to become closer to God!
Angelica Del Pilar has been in the field of education for five years. She writes short stories and poems with the hope to be published one day.