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What did you give up for Lent? Did you eat meat today? Why did you have ashes on your forehead on Wednesday? Are you over your Mardi Gras hangover yet? These are the questions swirling around those of us who are Catholic in South Louisiana. It is certainly comforting to live in an area that has a large number of Catholics but it also provides us with an opportunity. We can take the message of the Gospel from the Church that Jesus built on the foundation of Peter and begin to change the perceptions of what it truly means to be a Catholic in the 21st century. Heeding the call of Pope Francis to not be a "one trick pony" and only rail against abortion, we should also indicate our support for all things Catholic. That includes social justice especially when it concerns the poor. That means the Catholic education that has been provided for so long in many places that had nothing before and would have inadequate schooling without the Church's support. That means we need to share the message of eating Christ's body and drinking Christ's blood as is so visually displayed in the current movie Son of God. This list could go on and on. Lent is a time for penance and preparation of course. But it is also an icebreaker of sorts. Explaining to others why you are abstaining from eating meat on Friday can open the Church to them. Living Jesus Christ's call to model his behavior is one of the best ways to spend your Lenten journey. Giving up something should cause a life-long change in you. Creating a good habit where once there was bad is one of the reasons to walk this Lenten journey. The things that set us apart as a faith-filled community of believers should be what we use to bring others to the Gospel. If you have not ever found Lent to be a useful time for you, begin today to take a Lenten journey that transforms your life. Jesus took nails for you and me. What will you do for Him?

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