The CatholiCity Message

Volume XX, Number 2 – February 10, 2016

Dear CatholiCity Citizen,

You are going to love the list below.

Our only purpose today is to help you begin your Lent well. In 2009 I wrote the most bracing, well-received and motivating Lenten encouragement in the twenty-year history of this Message. What follows is an updated 2016 version.

Our goal is to help you commit to Your Best Lent Ever. Let us begin by asking the Holy Spirit to have Jesus speak in our hearts as we read, tens of thousands of us together:

Come Holy Spirit, enkindle in me the fire of your love. Jesus, please speak in my heart as I read today's message! Thank you. Amen.

Additionally, this is the message to forward to everyone in your in-box, post on Facebook, and otherwise promote through social media. You have our permission to print it out and leave copies in nearby churches.

1. Our Conceit

What exactly is a conceit? The fourth definition of the third meaning of the noun in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary is (drumroll):

"an organizing principle"

A Lent well-lived needs an organizing principle. May we suggest that your organizing principle be:

Go. For. The. Cross.

Years are A-Wastin'
We only have so many years on this earth and wasting a Lent ends this year. Challenge yourself spiritually. Adopt extra-difficult mortifications. Choose from the extensive list below. Do not fall for the temptation to slide into this worldwide season of extraordinary grace with indifference.

By the way, this is the one time of year when it is, in fact, a good idea to be more Catholic than the pope.

So plan today, right now, to receive the resurrected Jesus in the Eucharist at Easter Sunday Mass on March 27, 2016 with the wonderful sensation of knowing that you did your very, very best to grow closer to Him.

Go for the Cross.

Mentally Aim for Jesus on the Cross
What I mean by this is that when you adopt any of the following suggestions, do so with the culmination of Jesus' passion in your mind's eye. For example, below we suggest you wear your least favorite pair of shoes all Lent long. Every time you look at the shoes, every time you put them on or take them off, imagine the feet of Jesus with a long, bloodied, coarse black iron nail driven through them. Or imagine you are his mother or his best friend John looking at the horrible suffering of his feet.

Likewise, if you give up wearing your favorite watch or bracelet, imagine his wrists nailed to the splintery wood, and see in your mind's eye his forearm tendons and muscles surging in excruciating pain as he held himself up so he could take a labored breath. If you give up wearing make-up, imagine the wounds on his face, the crown of thorns, or the mocking of the crowds.

When you give a painful donation to charity, or sacrifice some luxury or necessity to have money to make that donation, imagine you are the Good Thief, next to Jesus on Calvary, merely returning what was given to you by God. You see Jesus look into your eyes, and hear his hoarse voice as he assures you, "On this day you will be with me in paradise."

You see how this works now.

The goal here is to keep our spiritual eyes on the culmination of the Lenten season: Jesus being whipped. Jesus being dragged through show trials. Jesus crowned with viciously brutal thorns. Jesus carrying his Cross. Jesus dying on the Cross. I wrote in my last message that our focus this year was going to be Jesus. Let us begin carrying that cross with Him now. Let us climb on the cross with him now (and not wait until Holy Thursday).

Oh No, Not That!
Right now I know that some of you are quite motivated. Some of you are groaning. Others are nodding, girding yourselves. (And a few stopped reading after the word conceit.)

Our goal is to make you tremble and honestly say to yourself, "Oh no, not that! I can't give up that! I won't give that up!" After the "usual suspect" suggestions at the beginning are many you've probably never considered before.

Souls are at stake. Real people we know will benefit from the graces we help bring into the world. (Let's all meet up in heaven!) Recall our prayer to the Holy Spirit: allow Jesus guide you through this list. Print it out and circle a few. Use a yellow highlighter. Go over the list with family and friends. Challenge each other.

And there certainly is no prohibition from or choosing three, five, or seven things for Lent 2016 (Your Best Lent Ever!). I know many of you have been intending to get off your duffs and do several of the following for years (and even decades; you know who you are).

I can only offer this bold encouragement because I am weak, slothful, wimpy, selfish, lazy, prideful, ashamed, intimidated, and cowardly. Join me, my family, and my coworkers.

The List

Pray the Rosary every day.

Receive Communion at Mass every day—or as often as possible.

Go to Confession every Friday.

Invite a friend or family member to Mass or Confession.

Pray the family Rosary every day or once a week.

Pray in silence twenty minutes a day.

Make a Eucharistic visit every day.

Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet (at 3:00 PM) every day.

Fast on bread and water one to three times per week. (Remember, as you suffer in your body, that Jesus suffered in his body on the Cross. Fasting is the best way to suffer in your body with Jesus.)

Read a spiritual book.

Give a painfully large donation to charity. If you can, recall your largest donation ever, whenever, and set a new personal record.

Give a donation to charity instead of buying something nice for you.

Sell something valuable you love and give the proceeds to charity.

Stock up local churches with CDs and booklets.

Pray "Jesus, I love you!" to your crucifix in the first waking seconds of the day.

Put a crucifix on a wall in every room in your home.

Carry a wooden cross in your pocket. Make a wooden cross to carry.

Listen to Catholic CDs when you drive (instead of the radio).

Do something major (even romantic) to improve your marriage.

Volunteer anywhere: at your kid's school, homeless shelter, etc.

Visit a home for the elderly. (Imagine Jesus knowing each person as one He died for.)

If you enjoy shopping, don't buy anything except absolute necessities until the Monday after Easter.

Offer yourself to your spouse more than you would prefer (remember Jesus giving up his body on the Cross).

Defer asking your spouse for the same if it relieves a burden (remember Jesus suffering from thirst on the Cross).

Give up complaining to anyone about anything, ever.

Wear your least favorite shoes every day.

Give up wearing make-up; that's right, let people see you as you really are.

Shave that beard or give up shaving (whichever makes you look worse).

Give up wearing a watch or other jewelry (but not wedding rings, obviously).

Leave your cellphone in the car or in another room or off whenever you are with family and friends.

Smile at everyone you can and remember Jesus being mocked when you receive the rare nasty look in return.

Help a recent college grad find a job...put a lot of effort into it, even if only through prayer.

If you have godchildren, offer special Rosary or adoration or Communion or fast for them.

Give up buying things on Amazon or some other favorite shopping website (or shopping channel).

If you are an exercise fanatic, purposely substitute prayer for exercise on Fridays.

If you rarely exercise, exercise on Fridays; carry something heavy when you walk or run.

If it's still wintry where you live, shovel your neighbors' driveways.

Cancel your satellite or cable TV service and give the savings to charity. (I did this for 2016. It sucks. At first.) Read spiritual books or spend time with your loved ones in the time saved.

Cancel Netflix, Hulu, and/or Amazon Prime; you shouldn't have HBO or Showtime anyway, so cancel them.

Give up Fox News. (You know who you are.)

Give up something you absolutely love, crave, or spend time on, or that annoys the people you love, including:

• television or your favorite television show
• television before a certain hour
• television after a certain hour
• coffee or tea (whichever you love most, or both)
• diet soda
• donuts
• slim jims
• hamburgers
• chocolate, and anything with chocolate flavor
• all snacks or desserts
• movies, movie rentals
• the Internet
• following your favorite sports team
• March Madness (my buddy, a Duke graduate, does this every year, amazingly. I give up Notre Dame games sometimes, in solidarity, which sucks. Always.)
• video games
• celebrity magazines
• golf (an objectively grave moral evil anyway) (only kidding)
• booze
• watching golf on TV
• a destructive, irresistible "friendship"
• foul language
• picking your nose
• sports radio
• satellite radio
• music radio
• talk radio
• radio in the car
• restaurants
• driving when you could walk
• sleeping in late on the weekends
• the snooze button
• fast food drive-throughs
• not cooking breakfast for your kids
• shopping for fun
• text messaging
• not stopping by your neighbors to say hello for weeks
• failing to visit or call your "not close by" relatives
• soap operas
• the beach (for those of you lucky enough to have one nearby)
• fishing, hunting, four-wheeling, skateboarding
• some of your "alone" time doing any hobby
• your absolute favorite, passionate hobby (aha, you just fainted!)
• nagging your husband (you know who you are)
• complaining to your wife (she knows who you are)
• interrupting others
• let me repeat: interrupting others
• not smiling when you arrive at the office
• knitting, crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, sudoku, cards
• knitting? (you addicts understand)
• cigarettes, cigars, gum, and "phony candy" breath mints
• again, chocolate
• meat (if your dietetic health allows)
• cellphone calls in your car
• using a headset or earphones
• music
• hot showers
• those ridiculous cellphone games
• not eating your vegetables (even you adults)
• filling out March Madness brackets
• gossiping at work; say something nice instead
• stealing "little stuff" from your employer, including time online
• relations with your spouse (mutually agreed upon, of course, on certain days or weeks)
• thinking about yourself when you wake up or go to sleep (pray instead)
• thinking about yourself when you drive (pray instead)
• buying anything you don't need
• not being extra nice (and offer prayers and a fast) to that one person who annoys you or rubs you the wrong way

And...we're done. Remember to print, circle, and highlight. Share the list with others.

Children and Pets
Nobody loves animals more than I. And they really love me. They can fast, too, on smaller portions or fewer treats. Fittingly, having them suffer a little bit makes us suffer.

We are also big advocates of children giving up video games and television. Consider encouraging your little ones to abstain from meat on Friday and even to fast (using your parental judgment, under your supervision of course).

This is a big one: encourage children in such a way that is a free choice to put 10% or more of their piggy bank into the collection basket. Or, make a special trip to a church to make the donation with them.

Praying Together for the Best Lent Ever
Our prayer is simple. Let us begin in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...

Dear Jesus, please help me embrace suffering as you did, and by leadership or by example or by simply asking with boldness or humility, to help my relatives and friends do their their best this Lent. Because I love you and I want them to love you. Because I want them to love you more. So send me the crosses I can bear. Invite me to be on the Cross with you as your friend. Let me console you there and make it my home. Thank you. Amen.

LENTEN QUOTATIONS

I have reached a point of not being able to suffer any more because all suffering is sweet to me. My God, I love you.
– St. Therese of Liseiux, final words before death

Jesus. Mary.
– Saint (Padre) Pio, final words before death

Tell my boys that I wait for them all in paradise.
– Saint John Bosco, final words before death

I have done my part. May Christ teach you to do yours.
– Saint Francis of Assisi, final words on his deathbed

My Lord has suffered as much for me.
– Savonarola, final words on his deathbed

I see my Lord!
– Saint Anthony of Padua, final words before death

Jesus! Jesus!
– Saint Joan of Arc, final words on her death pire

Thank you for being such an august and faithful citizen of CatholiCity and for reading to this sweet end. I will be back soon with a regular (if that's the right word) CatholiCity Message. I am so grateful for your willingness to put up with me. Thank you.

With Christ Crucified,

Bud Macfarlane
Founder and Executive Director