We are now more than halfway through the Lenten season. I don’t know about you, but by this point I tend to feel as though, in the routines and busyness of life, Lent is passing me by.
I have made changes to my schedule and to my diet. I have tried to focus on the sacraments and growing closer to Jesus through prayer; however, as Easter approaches, I find myself feeling that I have not worked sufficiently or that I won’t be spiritually ready for Easter. I worry that I have not made things “hard enough” for myself to deserve the 50-day celebration of the Easter season.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels this way, since Father Mark-Mary of Ascension Presents created a video entitled, “Failing at Lent? Make This One Change.”
Father Mark-Mary suggests that the difference between feeling successful and feeling like a failure during Lent could be affected by a simple attitude shift, and choice of words. He therefore asks his listeners whether they feel motivated or feel dedicated during Lent, clarifying that the verb that describes their mindset can either allow them to forge ahead in earnest only to falter, or emotionally sustain them for the long haul.
Father Mark-Mary explains that he is always filled with motivation at the start of Lent. He makes many plans to be holy and generous and is focused on all that he plans to do to grow closer to God. As he begins his Lenten journey, he takes action and (in his words) “gets hyped up” about his goals.
He likewise admits that, “At this point in the Lenten journey, almost certainly, the motivation is gone.”
Father Mark-Mary states that if you’re motivated rather than dedicated, you’re probably failing at Lent in some ways. He encourages people experiencing the same lack of motivation to consider moving into a place of dedication, rather than one of motivation.
Lent is a journey to Easter, but it’s also a “microcosm” of the whole journey of life, he reminds us. During Lent, we are encouraged to not only desire to growing in holiness and in our relationships with God and others, but to become dedicated to changing our hearts for good. We must aim to live lives that are increasingly and more consistently holy as we aspire to be saints. For he states that what separates us from the saints is the point where motivation is gone and dedication takes over.
Getting motivated and excited about our plans to become holy does not say very much unless we develop that ability to be disciplined: dedicated, faithful, and true to our relationship with God and our willingness to live out his plans for us. Without discipline, those who are “fired up” run the risk of being like seeds that fall on rocky ground, sprouting immediately, yet withering and dying because they fail to produce deep roots. (Mt 13:20-23)
Father Mark-Mary clarifies that “discipline” is possibly an even better word than “dedicated” to describe how to have success in Lent and in life. Being dedicated means that “our resolves to leave behind sin to go deeper with the Lord” have permeated our lives. When we approach Lent and life with discipline, we grow like the seeds that fall on rich soil, producing healthy roots and bearing fruit.
Father Mark-Mary ends his talk by asking, “Are you going to be disciplined?” “Are you going to do hard things to be faithful to the Lord?” He encourages us to avoid the temptation of getting “fired up” and burning out by taking small steps and allowing our roots of faith to grow steadily and deeply.
He encourages us to continue to take small steps along our Lenten journey and to avoid giving up on ourselves.
“We’re going to make it” he states, “poco a poco [little by little], if we stay disciplined.”
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