Thoughts on Lent

Ash Wednesday will be on February 21st this year.It is approaching very fast.....almost taking me by surprise.I realise,now,that I like Lent more than Advent.Some see Lent as a time of sacrifice because we must "give up" some little something during that time. I see it more as a renewal.I like the time of added prayers and meditation;perhaps increasing the time spend doing the Rosary and going to Mass more often.I enjoy the Christmas season,of course, but it has become too commercialised and often the "enjoyment" around us is forced.No one has figured out a way to make the Easter season as commercial as Christmas.The "Easter Bunny" doesn't have the same commercial success as "Santa".I guess,too, this due to the fact that the time preceding Easter is spent "sacrificing". The days immediately before Easter Sunday are concentrated on the Crucifixion.....not exactly the thing money makers want to think about.Lent and Holy Week are times of silence and contemplation....two of my favorite ways to pass the time.