by Brett Manero
Lent has begun, and I write this article with a slightly-injured hand endured during a cross-state bike ride in Florida this past week. More on that trip to come soon!
During this trip, Lent began with Ash Wednesday. My friend Ben and I were unable to attend Mass because of the tricky logistics of the bike trip. But I have a deep love for Lent: the melancholy feeling, the meditations, the looking forward to Easter and spring and summer, the theological reflections of Our Lord’s temptations in the wilderness.
My Christmas tree (my fake, something like four-foot-tall tree) is still in my living area, with the lights still on. I had put both a string of purple lights (the color of the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent) and colored lights. I lit both strings during this past season, and as late as last week before I jetted to Florida.
For years, I struggled with Christmas. It’s too stressful, too dramatic, too busy. The shopping, the endless parties, the traveling, the pressure to have the perfect holiday. But I surprised myself this past Christmas when I fell in love with the season over again – when does one’s best to ignore the more annoying aspects of the season, it really is quite a beautiful thing. Focusing on the gift of the Incarnation: the Second Person of the Trinity becoming man, is the key. Perhaps that’s why I have kept my Christmas tree and lights on for so long.
Now that Lent is here, some more rules-obsessed Catholics might insist on removing the tree and the lights. But is that absolutely necessary? Does it jeopardize one’s salvation to do so? No. The Incarnation should be celebrated year-round, because God has become man in Jesus Christ year-round. The Incarnation at Christmas and the glory of the Resurrection at Easter are deeply connected. The latter cannot happen without the former. They should be celebrated together.
Why not keep the spirit of Christmas going through Lent and Easter? Maybe I’ll just turn the purple lights on – the penitential color. But maybe I’ll turn them all on.
Have a great Lent, with a dash of the spirit of Christmas.
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