Lent begins
Next Wednesday is “Ash Wednesday,” which marks the beginning of Lent. For Catholics this is a period of time for reflection and prayer, in which one should try to make a change to get closer to God.
During this period many people stop doing things that give them joy or pleasure or they take advantage of the time to get away from their vices (even if temporarily), as a sacrifice to please the creator. The “sacrifices” that are made go from the simplest, such as not using jewelry or not eating sweets or chocolates, to make a very drastic abstinence from pleasures and foods.
They are just over 40 days when we detoxify from everything that affects us physically or mentally, it is a “detox diet” for body and soul. In that sense everyone, both believers and non-believers, would do well to take advantage of it.
The fact is that we all do things that we know are wrong or “not very good,” which for believers are sins, but for everyone are faults that we have, some which are very harmful to us and to those around us.
According to an investigation made by the Jesuit Roberto Busa, the sins most committed by men are, in this order: lust, gluttony, laziness, anger, pride, envy and greed. While for women they are pride, envy, anger, lust and laziness.
Beyond that, for the Catholic Church all these are considered “capital sins,” they are faults that all human beings have and that we should fight constantly, like physical illnesses.
In this Lent, whether we are believers or not, let us reflect on the faults we commit and the way to avoid them, doing so will help us improve our lives and will make us feel very satisfied.
