"With the help of God!"...my mother was right.

One of my mother's frequent phrases is "with the help of God!", mostly spoken as a postscript to a colorful conversation. While I can't convey the melody with which she repeats this refrain, it does have a distinctly Irish tone.

When uttered, those words color what preceded them with the tinge of an impending miracle or seemingly insurmountable task.

This phrase was our own family's vernacular, something that told us "straighten up, you've got work ahead."

And yet, this Lent I hear the familiar verse rephrased often - from all corners of my life.

The days before Ash Wednesday, the topics buzzed with the thought process on what to give or give up - "make it something that you need God for" says one priest, "choose something that you will need the grace of God to conquer" says another blogger - the message was coming through - make it something you can only do, "with the help of God!"

Well, that does change things.

When we discussed this at dinner - I did get 'the look' from the boys. "Really, that hard?" says one, "but I give up soda every Lent" says another.

I gently remind them that when you think you've conquered something, not much help is needed. We need God, we need to remember there is nothing that he cannot help us with - we are called to make our souls stronger. Yes, you might fail but you try again - "with the help of God!"

It's official, I sound like my mother, and it isn't so bad.

Trying to pass down some wisdom I didn’t fully embrace as a child – I learn as a parent. We need to reach higher, make our souls stronger – “with the help of God!”