When the clock strikes midnight on Ash Wednesday, the Mardi Gras partying comes to a halt and the forty days of Lent starts.
"Our time of focus has begun, our time of penance has begun," Father Michael Delcambre, pastor of Sacred Heart in Broussard, said. "Look at your life, take this time frame to reevaluate our life and get things in order."
What that may look like for some is giving something up that they enjoy, fasting from meat on Friday, or something that will help them find that order they may lack.
"When we deny ourselves a few things it may be a catalyst to look at other people or think of other people," Delcambre said. "To be more charitable and generous. Maybe sometimes we focus more on our needs and it forces us to ask who is in need around me and maybe I've just been focusing on my needs."
Delcambre said, while Lent is observed predominately by Catholics, many religions take part in fasting as a way to de-clutter their lives.
"It's good for your health, mind, and soul to detox of many things," Delcambre said. "Emotionally, physically, and spiritually of maybe the things that I don't notice are clogging or keeping me from....many religions do penance and fasting; I think it's a good practice."
In an age where everything seems to be moving at warp speed, Delcambre said it is time to take the next forty days, slow down, reflect, and figure out what is really important to you and what direction you want to lead your life.
