[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\u201cWhat is most contrary to salvation is not sin but habit.\u201d These are the words of Charles P\u00e9guy, instigator, poet, soldier, Catholic. And they\u2019re words which, for me, come to mind as we begin our Lent again.<\/p>\n

He was talking about those habits which control us, shape us, which although small by themselves, together can define us.<\/p>\n

Those habits of language, of diet, habits of thought and heart: swearing slips of the tongue, names taken in vain, out of our mouths before we even think about it; judging strangers, sometimes even friends, almost reflexively; that box of cookies half-gone in just a minute or two.<\/p>\n

These are the habits of Christian mediocrity; as I said, small things by themselves, they\u2019re deadly in the aggregate. Luring us into what C. S. Lewis called \u201csmallness and flabbiness\u201d and \u201ccontented subhumanity,\u201d it\u2019s why P\u00e9guy said bad habits could be as dangerous as sin. Because over time they dull us, making us less than what we\u2019re created to be.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s the reason for our Lenten disciplines. Praying as we do on Ash Wednesday that we may be \u201carmed with weapons of self-restraint,\u201d bettered \u201cwith minds made pure,\u201d the purpose of the spiritual and even physical struggles of Lent is to discover and embrace different habits, habits more formed by the \u201cmind of Christ,\u201d as Paul said (cf. 1 Cor. 2:16). Hence the physicality of Lent: bodily fasting, material almsgiving, additional and actual prayer, extra devotions like Stations of the Cross, a Holy Hour, an extra Rosary. The idea is plainly like exercise; akin to going to the gym, the habits of Lent are meant to make us healthier, more fit Christians. Fighting that \u201cflabbiness\u201d Lewis wrote about, they make our souls stronger and more agile, readier to follow Christ and to carry the cross he wants to give us.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re habits of discipleship meant to make us \u201cworthy to celebrate devoutly\u201d the Passion of Jesus. That\u2019s what separates Lenten disciplines from mere self-improvement. We struggle to replace our bad habits with good ones, not because we\u2019re trying to achieve salvation or even make ourselves better (although we often do become better people), but because the habits of Lent prepare us to see Christ better, seeing better his suffering and death and what it all really means.<\/p>\n

This is the deeper reason of our Lenten work: that by embracing the habits of Lent we come to see Holy Week and Easter better and the death and resurrection of Jesus more clearly. Which, of course, is to see our own death and resurrection more clearly, to see better the work and purpose of salvation, and that it\u2019s salvation meant for us. That is, if we\u2019ll but desire it and yearn for it, struggling for it like it\u2019s something we genuinely love.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why we each should take up the habits of Lent, so we can see Christ more clearly. Because we need to see him more clearly\u2014our beautiful Christ in an ugly world, his love on Good Friday.<\/p>\n

This column originally appeared in The Texas Catholic<\/em><\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\u201cWhat is most contrary to salvation is not sin but habit.\u201d These are the words of Charles P\u00e9guy, instigator, poet, soldier, Catholic. And they\u2019re words which, for me, come to mind as we begin our Lent again. He was talking about those habits which control us, shape us, which although small by themselves, together can define [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,15],"tags":[26,25],"yoast_head":"\n