"... Love is a battlefield.."

Pat Benatar isn't the only one who thinks "Love is a Battlefield." Lent, for the Christian, is a battlefield. Why? Because ultimately every penance, every fast, every alms giving is an act of love. Slowly we are killing off our selfishness and depriving ourselves of anything that is not Christ, of anything that is not love.  And you know what, it isn't easy! Just think about a time where you gave up something whether it was meat or sweets during Lent.  Yep, the days you are fasting are those bizarre days that you are craving that stuff! Or those are the days people at work decide to bring in a truckload of homemade cupcakes! I just had a conversation with an amazing friend last night who told me how a love one didn't want to be seen with her on Ash Wednesday because of the "dirt mark" on her head. It's a battlefield.

There is a really neat collect that goes back to the time of the Gelasian Sacramentary (around 750 A.D.) It was used for the Eve of Pentecost.  Eventually it was moved into position immediately following the Blessing of Ashes.  Now, it is used at the opening prayer on Ash Wednesday in the Roman Liturgy.  No matter how it developed, I think it is very powerful:


Concede nobis, Domine, praesidia militiae christianae
sanctis inchoare ieiuniis,
ut, contra spiritales nequitias pugnaturi,
continentiae muniamur auxiliis.

Before we get to the translation, lets look at some of the key words:  praesidia, militiae, pugnaturi, muniamur.  All of these words smack of a military campaign (in order): defense, military campaign, "to combat in battle," and "to defend with a wall." It is actually verbiage used to describe actions of the Roman Legions.  Here is the translation:


Grant us, O Lord, to commence the defenses of the Christian field campaign by means of holy fasts,
so that, we who are about to do battle against spiritual negligences,
may be fortified by the weapons of self-denial.

When the Roman Legions were on march and needed to rest for the night, they literally built a wall to protect themselves.  Those Italian boys weren't playin'. During Lent, either are we. But, look who our enemy is: spirituales nequitias or "spiritual negligence." It literally means vileness or bad moral quality. It usually refers to a negligence in duty. During Lent, it is time to get our spiritual lives running like a 57' Chevy.  We have neglected our Christian duty. We have neglected prayer, became selfish, ran from Christian witness, you name it. Stopping in course and re-correcting things isn't that easy. In fact, it feels like a battlefield. We do have weapons to combat our negligence, i.e prayer, fasting, alms-giving, self-denial. These tools should empty us of anything that is not of Him and fills us with everything that is Love.  No weapon shall proper against Love! But, it isn't easy. Yet, with the help of God's grace, we will win our fight with ourselves. The goodness of Lent is that it takes us to the Cross and Easter. Love has already won the battle. As the hymn goes:


Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
forward into battle see his banners go!