Lent Is War: Your First Battle Begins Now

Lent is not a battle for lone wolves.

If Lent isn’t a war fought first at home, you’re doing it wrong.
This season isn’t about self-improvement. It’s not a checklist.
It’s a siege against the devil’s lies—and your home is the fortress.

It’s war.

For 40 days, Christ fasted, prayed, and fought the devil face-to-face.
For 40 days, Israel wandered in the wilderness, learning obedience.
For 40 days, you will be tested.

“The Lord will fight for you; you have only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14)

But stillness doesn’t mean passivity—it means standing in formation.
A father who fights alone is a father who falls.

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The Problem: Most Men Wage the Wrong War

Most Catholic husbands and fathers treat Lent like a personal challenge—something they try to do instead of something they owe God and their families.

They give up small things but never go to war with their real enemies:

• Their addiction to comfort while their children drift

• Their laziness in prayer while their wives hunger for holiness

• Their spiritual passivity in the home God entrusted to them

Lent is a mission to reclaim your family’s soul while fortifying yours. Lent cannot be an afterthought. It has to be a mission—a mission that shapes your faith, your family, and your future as a man of God.

That starts now.

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The Tactical Plan: Your First Battle Orders

This objective isn’t to throw yourself into unsustainable extremes. It’s about setting the foundation. If you aren’t preparing now, Lent will break you.

You will train.
You will fast.
You will pray.
And you will do it in a way that makes you stronger.

1. The Prayer Offensive: Your Spiritual Weapon

“Every battle in Scripture begins with prayer. So does every father’s duty.”

Your Orders:

• Lead daily Rosary with your family (one decade minimum; full Rosary if you’re serious).

• Read Matthew 4:1-11 aloud—remind your children how Christ fought for them.

• Confession before Ash Wednesday—no exceptions; bring your kids if appropriate.

2. The Physical Discipline: Training for Sacrifice, Not Ego

“Your body is a weapon for their protection, not your pride.”

Your Orders:

• Fasted workouts with your children present if appropriate (no music, no distractions—pray the Litany of Humility while you lift).

• Friday Ordeal: Ruck or hike 3 miles with your family (let them see your sweat; let them experience your grit).

3. The Fasting Order: Starve Sin, Feed Souls

“Fasting is not a diet. It’s fatherhood.”

Most men treat fasting like a diet. That’s not the Catholic way.

Fasting is spiritual combat. It trains you to master your urges before they master you. Fasting is not a weight loss tactic. It is about holiness. Used vainly, it becomes pride. Used spiritually, it becomes fire.

Your Orders:

• Replace snacks with Scripture. When hunger strikes, read Psalms to your children. Be practical; do not cut calories when you work a physically demanding job.

• Fast on Wednesdays and Fridays—offer it for your wife’s intentions.

• Cut one comfort (TV, social media)—reclaim that time to lead Night Prayer. Or add. Be more patient, more prudent, and slower to anger or judgment.

4. Domestic Fraternity: Brotherhood Begins at Home

“Your wife and children are your first brothers and sisters in Christ. Fail here, and no men’s group will save you.”

(From Desert Father, releasing March 2024)

Anchor Practices:

• Weekly Siege Meal: Phones off. Candles lit. Ask, “Where did we see God this week?”

• Family Exodus: Host one Catholic father’s family monthly—share a meal, pray Compline, and confess struggles.

• Desert Rule: “A man alone is either saint or devil” (Abba Moses).

Solitude trains you for communion—but your home is your first monastery.

This isn’t “community.” This is combat.

“Brotherhood doesn’t start in a men’s group—it starts at your dinner table.”

Final Orders: Advance or Retreat

Most of us will drift into Lent, make excuses, and stay weak.

You will not. You are here because you refuse to fail.

Your Orders for the Next Week:

• Write your Lenten Rule—not an idea, a rule. Post it on the fridge. Let your family see it.

• Confession before Ash Wednesday. No exceptions.

• First Friday Ordeal: Fast, suffer, then lead Night Prayer with your family.

• Invite one Catholic father’s family for soup and Psalms before Ash Wednesday if possible or participate in an act of service.

The Man Your Family Needs You to Be

Lent is not a game. It is war. But we aren’t here for trophies—we are here for holiness, for Christ, and for the strength to lead our families.

• When you fall (and you will), go to Confession.

• When you fast, offer up the hunger, spiritually and physically

• When you pray, roar—let the devil hear your family’s defiance.

If this feels like the fire you’ve been waiting for—step into the desert.

Fight like a father.

We march, or we perish. Choose.

Virtute et Labore ☩

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Hold the Line. Train. Lead.

We’re Catholic husbands and fathers.

We’re different.

We reject passivity. Our families need us to lead—with strength, virtue, and unwavering commitment to Christ.

But leadership isn’t automatic. It must be trained, forged, and tested.

That’s why The Marian Standard exists—to equip you with the strategies, discipline, and formation to become the Catholic man you were called to be.

This is elite spiritual and physical stewardship formation.

• Rooted in the Sacraments: Strength begins with grace. Confession. The Eucharist. Prayer.

• Forged in Marian Devotion: Consecrate yourself to Our Lady. Follow her lead.

• Tactical Training, Not Theory: Leadership. Purity. Discipline. Formation that demands action.

• Spiritual & Physical Resilience: Because the battle is fought on both fronts.

This is the Standard. Train Under it.

Most men break. By God’s grace and your effort, you will not.