Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

Dear friends and followers, today is Ash Wednesday, and for Christians, the beginning of Lent. For these forty days of Lent, I will try to focus my writings and thoughts on more spiritual things, helping me to center myself on these three things: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

For so long, Catholics were asked to give up something for Lent; the theory being that the sacrifice of withholding one of our small pleasures in life would help us to prepare for Holy Week and the Passion of Christ. Now, the Church teachings have shifted to asking us to add something instead. Pray more. Fast more. Give more. I shall endeavor to do all three.

That being said, I am still giving up something for Lent. First the easy one, Diet Coke. I’ve cut way back over the past few years but I’ve slowly crept back to drinking a bit more, especially since my school has a soda vending machine in the faculty lounge. The more difficult one, though, is Facebook. Today, I posted my declaration to abstain from Facebook throughout the forty days of Lent. I’ve deleted the app from my phone as my final salvo. I will try to use the time I waste on Facebook each day to pray more and to write more, especially more spiritual things. Why is this so difficult? Primarily, because it is the only contact I have with many of my friends from back home, from pre-Katrina days, from high school and college. Wish me luck as I tamp down two bad habits while attempting to live a more prayerful life. Peace and prayers to all!