Lent and... Lint?

As we prepare for the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus the Christ in a period called “Lent” I am reminded of the word “lint.”

The word “lent” is the Old English word for Spring and in Latin, is a derivation of the Latin term quadragesima or “forty days.” Hence, the Spanish word “cuaresma.” But when I hear the word “lent” in modern American English language, I am reminded of the word “lint.”

Yes, I know, a little odd, right?

But wait, there is meaning to my thoughts.

You see, lint is the clinging fuzzy fluff that accumulates in one’s pockets or navel or on clothes or on lint traps. And this lint is basically useless (barring the advent of a new use for it) and just seems to clog up things. So when I think of “lint,” I think of “accumulation”- accumulation of useless items that prevent something from being clean. A pocket filled with lint, is not a clean pocket and a shirt spotted with lint is not a clean shirt, yet they become clean when they are emptied of this lint.

The “Lint” of my life becomes the accumulation of unimportant items that occupy my energy and focus and takes away from my relationship with our Lord, Jesus. Whether it is the too much television, or lack of prayer time, or not going to mass, or gossip, or being too attached to consumerism, or pride. These accumulate in my life and do not allow be to clean.

You see, lint relates to my life, because little by little the fluff accumulates beginning from a miniscule amount and growing to a considerable amount. That is what “lint” can do to our focus with God. Little by little, the things of the world, can become larger and larger in our lives until they are difficult to remove.
So now comes “Lent.”

This is becoming a period of my life, that by the Lord’s grace I can clean out my “lint.” I can empty my lint from my life. It’s a time for me to empty myself for Jesus. Not that we shouldn’t be emptying ourselves all the time for Jesus, but maybe this is too idealistic for us humans.

Even our Lord Himself, went through a 40 day period of fasting and praying (Matthew 4:1-11). 40 days. My brothers and sisters, that is a finite period of time. That is something we can do. And so through His example, I gain the confidence to say, “With the Lord’s grace, I can do this, too.”

I think about the rosary’s sorrowful mystery called the “Agony of the Garden” (Luke 22:39-46) and I think about how Jesus asked the Father to “take this cup away from me.” His human suffering was finite. It had an end. I think about this phrase, “With the Lord’s grace, I can do this.” Because we know these 40 days too will pass. Whatever temptation we go through to break our devotional promises, remember that we can make it through. And maybe at the end of this time, we go back to accumulating more “lint” but you know, it’ll be less accumulation because we’ve just cleaned out the previous one. And perhaps, your will has become more disciplined now, and you’ll be able to keep lint from accumulating again.

So however we can spend this time preparing for the death and resurrection of our Lord, let us remember that Jesus has already overcome the world. We gather strength from Him to clear out our “lint” that has and is accumulating in our life that takes our focus away from the Lord. Let us discipline our wills this lent. Let us empty our lint and be filled with the grace of God. Let us say, “not my will, but yours be done” as our Lord said in the garden.

Let us ask God for grace this lent because we do not want our Lord Jesus saying to us what he had said to his disciples after he finished his agony in the garden: “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test.” (Luke 22:46)
Let us not be found sleeping this Lenten season. Let us clear out our “lint.”


May the Almighty God bless you, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.