Lent is more than just a season of obligatory self-sacrifice. It is a time for a profound change of heart.
Yesterday I recognized how I had failed (and continued to fail) at keeping my Lenten penance. The deeper issue that keeps confronting me is my intention--or attitude--this Lent. What sort of posture do I bear as I go about my day? If someone were to catch me in a moment in which I thought I was unobserved, what would they see? Would they see me in deep, contemplative prayer, or rushed, distracted prayer? Would they see me extending extra gentleness to my children, or would they see me snapping at them? Would they see me going about my day mindfully, or would they see me moving from one thing to the next with nothing but the force of habit to steer me? Christians are called during Lent to bear the burden of mindfulness, self-awareness, and self-emptying to the extent that they are able. What does this mean for me, an enthusiastic novice of the Benedictine Canons? Does it mean, for example, that if I'm sending my daughter to her room because she's interrupting my midday prayer, I'm doing my prayer wrong? Does it mean that if I'm puttering through my day without setting any particular goal or intention, that I'll end up casting about with nothing to show for it? Lent is a season of obligatory self-sacrifice, but the self-sacrifice isn't the goal. The change of heart, made possible by a mutual meeting between ourselves and the Divine One, is the goal. What will I need to do today, this hour, or this moment, to raise my awareness enough to realize God's been waiting for me this whole time?
3 Comments
BroRaw
3/7/2014 06:30:25 am
Sometimes, Lenten Sacrifice is taking on a practice too. It is making a space intentionally for a new thing. Perhaps it is a book to read for the time or a new food item to replace one less healthy. It might be to smile at 10 new people a week, looking them directly in the eyes briefly when doing it. I sometimes look at the mundane, daily washing of dishes as prayer. I am thankful that I have dishes to wash and food scraps to wash of of them. and I turn it into God, thank you for my house, my friends. Making the space to be mindful of blessings is also a sacrifice, a fasting of the time for other things. I usually actually fast a food too.
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3/7/2014 12:24:08 pm
I'm with you, BroRaw.
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Rawleigh
3/9/2014 11:09:56 am
Cha-Ching!...the book sounds great. Give me a couple of weeks though before I borrow it. I am currently reading a book named Stitches by Ann Lamott. It is about things that happen in life and how we do or do not approach and handle them. She has a similar sense of humor to mine; kindly, but slightly irreverent. Thanks for the offer. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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