New Evangelizers Post: Lent - Spiritual Boot Camp

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com.  
This was originally published right before Ash Wednesday.

This Wednesday we are going to being the holy season of Lent.

I often equate Lent to spiritual boot camp.

I love the Rocky movies. They have provided me with years of continual uplift and entertainment. These movies are almost a genre unto themselves in that they have certain qualities that must be in them or else the experience is very unsatisfying. You can see this in the almost universally rejected Rocky V which does not build up to Rocky’s big final fight in the ring with his opponent, but instead ends with a street brawl. The Rocky movie formula builds to that final fight, but beforehand there is the training montage. We watch Rocky get into shape to prepare for the fight of his life.

Lent is our Rocky training montage.

We are in the fight of our lives. We are in spiritual war. As St. Paul reminds us, “ For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. “ (Ephesians 6:12) Throughout the year, the constant wear of the needs of the world can distract us from the fact that we are in the middle of this war. The more distracted we are, the less prepared we are to fight.

This is why we need Lent.

You can read the whole article here.