What Happens After Lent?
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would it be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?” (Matthew 16:24-26).
Editor’s note: This Lent, the Catholic Women in Business team is exploring the theme “Cultivating Virtue in the Desert.” Learn more here.
This article contains a copious amount of Catholic guilt. Consider yourself warned.
We are in the season of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Saturday. It’s a time of penance, reflection, sacrifice, and preparation for Jesus’ resurrection.
The 40-day period represents when Jesus went into the desert. Satan tested him with food and earthly power—both of which Jesus rejected.
Is 40 Days Enough?
I’ve been thinking a lot about Lent this year. I prayerfully and thoughtfully planned what to do, like spending additional time with God and giving up attachments to things that distract me from being in the present moment. There’s also fasting and penance. It's a lot. And it's hard.
Is it enough?
If these things bring us closer to God, why do we limit them to only 40 days? Because the world we are living in is the desert, my friends. The desert is here. If you don’t believe me, look around. A brief headline scan will convince you.
I’m not talking about end times, but we are so lost, so far from God. The temptations and tests from the evil one are happening every day. We are sliding further from our relationship with God, and the tiny crack will soon be a canyon where we cannot see the other side.
Giving up chocolate for 40 days is not going to get you to Heaven. But it’s a start.
Could abstaining from chocolate help you to listen more to God and less to the emotions that lead you to overindulge? Absolutely. But, deleting the Facebook app from your phone for 40 days and then going back to endless scrolling on Easter Sunday? I would rank that low on the “sacrifice” scale.
Called to Holiness
If it sounds harsh, it's because it is—and I’m writing this for myself and for whoever else needs to hear it. How can these 40 days of sacrifice during Lent transform our lives? It must change our hearts as well as our habits.
We are called to holiness. We are called to be saints. We are not called to give up donuts for a few weeks and think we’ve made a dent in our sinful lives.
Years ago, when I was newly Catholic, a priest told us that instead of giving up something you shouldn’t be doing (e.g., eating sweets, watching too much TV, etc.), it was more fruitful and meaningful to do something. He encouraged us to volunteer in the community or give money if we could—to make a change that would lead to a more devout life.
So, I challenge us to look at this Lenten season as a time of sacrifice as well as a time to build our faithful habits. Adding a devotion or a prayer time to your day during Lent? You’ve built the habit—keep it going! Volunteering once a week for your parish or a community organization? I guarantee they would be overjoyed to have your help after Easter, too.
Let’s look to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Start small if you need to, but start. The only day we have to give more to God is today. How are you being called to walk closer to him as we journey through this desert? The closer we draw our internal selves toward God, the more our hearts will change.
I feel unprepared and unworthy. I am sometimes scared of how hard it is to follow God. Then, I remember that I have all I need. He is all we need—for the next 40 days and the rest of our lives.
Cathi Kennedy is passionate about building relationships. At the University of Notre Dame, she advises graduate students for the Mendoza College of Business. Her background is in marketing and communications, and she recently received her MBA. Impassioned writer, voracious reader, aspiring knitter. Married to a musician and mom to two amazing sons. Cathi is a convert to Catholicism and seeks to learn something new about her faith every day. Connect with Cathi: LinkedIn • Instagram • Facebook • Blog