There’s little doubt that we are living the most comfortable lives any human has ever experienced. Electricity, clean water, and boundless food with few threats, we have got it good. It’s easy to slip into complacency, taking this life for granted. So when a spring storm rolls through and knocks out your power for two days, the degree to which we depend on these comforts to function becomes clear.

The same is true for our spiritual life. We have access not only to the full Bible, in our language, but we also have thousands of years of reflections and exegesis to study. There’s the Catechism, and the full story of salvation history, all laid out for us. It’s never been easier for us to know God and understand His plan for us. But we still struggle, get complacent, and go our own way.

Lent is the strong, spring storm of the Church. It’s the annual sacrifice, giving up some small comfort in our day, to remind ourselves of who we are, and whose we are. It’s the season of humility, when we acknowledge, once again, that God’s way is better.

Our life is full of ups and downs, but we exist in relationship with a God who is faithful to us through it all. Hopefully one year we can enter the Lenten season not needing this simple, but powerful reminder.