Lent, Kon-Mari Style

As she and her husband prepare to move into their first home, Rebecca Willen contemplates on Lent as packing for a move to our heavenly home.

My husband and I are in the process of buying our first home. That part is fun – the less fun part is packing up our little rental house for the big move. I alternate between confidence and despair about how much is left to be done, but I’ve decided on one thing: I’m not moving a single thing to our new home that I don’t actually want to be there.

Yes, I’ve gone a bit Marie Kondo on the place. For the record, I recommend Lisa Lawmaster Hess’s Know Thyself: An Imperfectionist’s Guide to Sorting Your Stuff when it comes to organizing and storage. But for purging, the KonMari method is just about as ruthless as I need it to be.

When you’re sorting, folding, and packing stacks of laundry and over 30 boxes of books, the mind has time to wander. I’ve been pondering this phenomenon of making a house a home. There is so much I’m looking forward to: stability, permanence, a place for the things and people I love. In order to achieve that, I have to get rid of the things that are holding back that dream.

On the physical level, that means old clothes that don’t fit, books I don’t love, frying pans I never use. These are items which get in the way of the things that do help me live a purposeful life. As an example—when you have to sort through five shirts that don’t fit in order to find something to wear on Sunday morning, what’s the result? You get cranky and impatient, take yourself on a guilt trip for not fitting into that pretty blouse, or cringe at the memory of the awkward shopping trip with your sister-in-law. At that point your physical possessions are getting in the way of being a happy, well-adjusted person who’s able to get to Mass on time.

couple in front of home in winter

Let’s talk about the spiritual level of all this.

Why did God make me? God made me to know, love, and serve Him in this life and be happy with Him forever in the next. (Sorry Mom, I might not be remembering the exact wording and I’ve already packed my copy of the Baltimore Catechism.)

The whole point of life is eternal union with God. We’re only able to access that destiny because of the Paschal Mystery, Christ’s suffering, death, and Resurrection which we commemorate in Holy Week. That sacrifice and victory overcame the sin of our first parents and reopened the path to heaven.

Basic theology, right? Let’s back it up even further. This reality is so important that every year we not only spend a week re-living it, we also spend forty days preparing to spend a week re-living it. Every year we face down the inevitable Shrove Tuesday panic of “What am I going to give up for Lent?” not to mention the Laetare Sunday “We’re halfway through Lent and I’m failing miserably!”

Here's a different thought for you. Easter Sunday is a glimpse of our heavenly home, right? Glorified Christ, death conquered forever, light and angels and all that great stuff, and we’re meant to jump into the joy with both feet. So if Easter is like moving into an eternal mansion … Lent is like packing for that move.

What do you want to bring into Easter? What does our dear Savior ask you to pack and move to His mansion from the gifts He has given you? #catholicmom

And that is where Marie Kondo can help us live a better Lent. What’s holding you back from that big move? If Easter were tomorrow, what would you wish you didn’t have to drag into the new digs? If the Lord, being the best and most loving landlord, is ready to welcome you into His house, what would He prefer you not pack? Sin, bad habits, unhealthy attachments—we all have plenty to purge.

It’s not all about purging, though. The KonMari method isn’t about limiting you to exactly ten shirts, or getting rid of all your love letters from high school. Kondo wants you to keep the things that spark joy—the things that are worth keeping, because they really do help you be more of who God wants you to be.

couple celebrating purchase of a new home

What do you want to bring into Easter? What does our dear Savior ask you to pack and move to His mansion from the gifts He has given you? Take some time to think about your gifts and joys, the virtues that come easiest, the strengths that help you through life. Perhaps they are buried in a box. Pick them up, touch them, turn them around and let the light show you what you may have forgotten. Ask the Lord how He wants you to use them, share them with others, or maybe even display them in a prominent place.

This year, prepare for Lent KonMari-style, and enjoy the rest and joy that Easter will bring!