Valentine’s Day is a holiday loathed by many. We all know people who make every excuse possible to avoid and disappear on Feb. 14. Well, for those of us Catholics who find V-Day just a little awkward and depressing, we have the ultimate excuse (and obligation) to lay low this year—it is Ash Wednesday 😂.

Of course, all humor aside, some of us might gladly take Valentine’s Day over Ash Wednesday. After all, Ash Wednesday begins the holy season of Lent which isn’t exactly for the faint of heart. As a priest once honestly said in a homily, “Lent isn’t my favorite time, but it is a necessary time.”

Sloan and I pose for a photo with our ashes after Ash Wednesday mass at St. Mary Catholic Church in the Spokane Valley in Feb. 2023.

Yep, tomorrow is the start of a 40+-day period in which we will try to walk through the desert with Jesus. The destination? Well, Easter Sunday of course. But just like it could not have been easy for Jesus to resist temptation by Satan during those 40 days, we can’t make it easy for ourselves either. Catholics are called upon during this time to embrace prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In a society where instant gratification and greed are rampant, this invitation can be tough to accept. Perhaps those chocolate hearts and rom-coms don’t sound so bad, right?

But nothing worth it is ever easy. And that holds true for the most “worth it” thing in the history of human kind—salvation. Jesus won eternal salvation for us on Easter Sunday and Lent is the perfect time to prepare ourselves to reap that victory.

So as we enter this holy Lenten season tomorrow, let’s push ourselves to march through that desert with grace, discipline, and love. By denying ourselves, fending off Satan, and loving Christ, we will be in good shape to celebrate Easter on March 31. Don’t Blink.

Past Lenten Blog Posts
General Lenten Points of Emphasis
Lent 2023: A Necessary Time
Lent 2022: Solidarity With Ukraine
The Lenten Road
The Journey of Lent
The Real Purpose of Lent