Yesterday, one of my students sat in front of me during lunch and asked me what she should give up during Lent. I couldn't answer because the whole table proceeded to tell me what they were doing. I must say that for 13 & 14 year olds I came away pretty impressed. One was giving up cursing. Another gave up any drinks that weren't water. Another was giving up meat for ALL of Lent and the one that took he prize was the girl who was giving up all drinks except water plus texting plus Facebook and Twitter. I asked her if she thought it was too much. She paused for a second of thought and simply replied "nope" with a depth that defied her youth.
Young teenagers love a good challenge, and since they haven't yet reached the age where they start questioning everything, they embrace the challenge of Lent with an optimistic innocence that we can all learn from. I’ve seen that a lot recently in friends my own age who embrace the challenge of a more demanding job or of running a marathon or of doing Cross Fit. What's the biggest challenge in your spiritual life? What do we need to embrace or purge from our life this Lent to allow us to look upon Christ with the same eyes as these young people?
