We all suffer loss at one time or another in our lifetime. As a matter of fact, it seems that life is a training ground for loss. As a child we lose our favorite toy or comfort blanket, then our beloved pet went to live with a nice couple at their “farm” . As we grow we have a first love that always ends in the worst day of our lives when we break-up. When I was a teen I was a mediocre athlete and that sure taught me to handle loss, I didn’t like but I learned to live with it. I read about the Angel Mothers who suffered the loss of their children as they went off to a foreign land and sacrificed themselves in noble fashion to save the lives of their comrades; or the parents who needlessly lost their child to some idiot scofflaw who disrespected the rule of law their entire lives. Nothing ever eases the pain but one learns to live with the loss and mask the agony in some way. We all accept loss as we mature, we don’t like it but we accept it. With that in mind, I think of the Father who willingly accepted his His Son’s agonising death so that you and I could have eternal life in heaven with Him. Our whole life has prepared us for the Lenten season but how do we honor that Sacrifice? We allow ourselves to become absorbed by petty partisan politics. We accept our grown representatives’ name calling and whining as if their image were a golden idol worth defending. I honor all the Angel parents who have endured loss, but most of all let us all honor God’s loss given so that we could live.