At one time, I always looked forward to Lent, because it would mean summer vacations somewhere. Think of Bohol, bikini tops, tangerine and lilac sunsets, late nights with the moon, earth on your feet, cloud stories, worry-free infinities, and chocolate topped mountains.

The planning starts on All Soul's Day, when everyone gathers around Lolo and Lola's grave.

Mom would actually plot out the 'go to' places and would have the budget ready for us to 'rack our brains' over. For more expensive places, though, she would offer to take on a part of the cost. Oh, where would we be without her! And she does pay for some of the nice meals. She is our saint.

And so Lent was no Siete Palabras for us,

We’d start the budget crunching in January. Chips Ahoy replaced with Skyflakes on the grocery list for that 'must have' trip. I must say 'torment' would sound pretty lame with what we had to go through. It was abstinence all right -- it was our version of FASTING, because the trips we’d go for did entail a budget. It was part of the fun, I suppose, to truly enjoy the efforts put forward.

The Poca family resort was our first ever trip and since then it was sand, sea, sky, and serious bonding moments. Each year took us to different places, adventures, misadventures, sapots, bloopers, onggoy onggoy olympics, and many more memories that filled up family gab fest and conferences.

But Auckland is different all together.

Since we arrived here, we have become more observant of the rituals of the Church. Perhaps it helps that we are around people who have stirred us towards this path of religiousity. Or could it be because our journey depended on it?

I came here on a Work to Residence visa good for 6 months. I already lost 1 month to tender my resignation and prepare for the trip so I had only 5 months to get that required "skilled" job. It was a tough and anxiety inducing experience.

St. Patrick's Cathedral had now been my fave "go to" place. For 3 weeks since I arrived, every job interview started and ended with a prayer at row 1 near the image of Mama Mary.  The number of application letters I sent out equalled to the number of rejection letters that came back.  An ordeal that was necessary. Yet, the persistence paid of.

How could I forget. It was Lent of 2008, right after Easter when I started work. I have been very lucky for prayers answered.

My family arrived soon afterward New challenges to be had. Finding a new place to live, finding a school for the kids --- yaddah yaddah…

I call them my everyday LIFE bumps. St Hyacinth says "we never ever grow strong enough to do without PRAYER" 

And so it has turned to become a prayerful LENT for us. A new kind of LENT to look forward to.

The kind that requires a true sense of abstinence, prayer and service. But however I may describe it, Lent will always be, for me, a CELEBRATION. A PREPARATION. A JOURNEY. One of HOPE.