Are you ready for a great spiritual adventure? This Ash Wednesday begins the Holy Season of Lent. Our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters referred to it as “The Great Lent”. Yes, Lent is Great! It’s a great opportunity for us to rediscover our God in a new and vibrant way. Sadly, some Catholics seem to have a problem with getting excited about the Holy Season of Lent. Perhaps it’s because they look at it as a negative instead of looking at it as a wonderful opportunity to grow closer to God. There are so many wonderful opportunities to experience God in this new springtime of Lent. So how does Lent help us grow closer to God? Here is a simple answer. We are encouraged to practice the holy disciplines of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. By practicing these holy disciplines, we focus less on ourselves and more on God and others. One of the ways in which we can get a head-start on Lent this year is by practicing Christian Charity and almsgiving. This weekend we will hear Bishop Soto talking about the Annual Catholic Appeal. This is one of many ways in which we can practice almsgiving and help those who are truly in need. Perhaps you can think of other creative ways to help those in need. Again, Lent is sort of like a pair of Levi’s 501 Jeans: “You get out of them; what you put into them.” May 2020 be the best Lent ever for all of us!