ADVENT AND PENANCE?

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Most of us Catholics think of Lent as a time of penitence, a time to reflect on Jesus' suffering and death as we prepare for Holy Week and the celebration of the Resurrection, Christ's victory over sin, suffering and death. 

I've been reflecting recently (see my previous post) on the penitential side of Advent. The message of John the Baptist rings out during Advent: "Repent! The Kingdom is at hand!" So the Advent season is one of joyous anticipation of the coming of Christ at Christmas, but it has always included the dimension of repentance as part of answering the Baptist's call to prepare the way for the Lord. 

Nowadays most of us think that repentance and joy as opposites, and that you can't experience both at the same time. It seems that in the past the penitential practices of Advent always had a festive character. Our ancestors in the faith understood the concept of "the discipline of joy" -- they had a good time keeping Advent even though they were fasting and abstaining from meat, and so on. For us moderns it's an "either/or" situation rather than a "both/and". As a result, we've let go of the penitential aspect (preparing the way, making the paths straight for the Lord to come) and have kept just the celebration part.

So we fill the pre-Christmas season with parties and Christmas carols and miss the experience of "waiting in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ." There was wisdom in the original way of celebrating Advent -- joyful penitence that would make the celebration of the feast on December 25 that much more festive.

We shouldn't be afraid of including in our "celebration" of Advent some practices such as giving to the poor or having a simpler or meatless meal now and then. A wise celebration of Advent in our homes and churches is certainly a great antidote to our culture's frenzied mindless rushing, the stressful, exhausting round of shopping and partying in preparation for Christmas.

A VISION FOR LENT

FORTY DAYS IN THE DESERT

The gospel for the First Sunday of Lent this year is Mark’s version of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. The entire passage is only two verses long:

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. (Mk 1:12-13)

Compared to the much more detailed versions of Matthew and Luke, Mark’s account seems disappointingly short on details. But if we concentrate on what he does tell us, we find some wonderful food for meditation.

First we should look at what Mark is saying. He surely intends (as do Matthew and Luke in their much longer accounts) that we should make the connection between the People of God who spent forty years in the wilderness, and Jesus “the New Israel,” who spent forty days there fasting and being tested. And perhaps more likely the gospel writers want us to recall the fast of Moses (Deut. 9:18) in the wilderness of Sinai, and that of Elijah near mount Horeb (cf. I Kgs 19:8).

I would like, however, to look at two interesting details in the second and final sentence in Mark: “He was with the wild beasts” and “angels came and ministered to him.”

THE BEASTS AND THE ANGELS

In the Old Testament wild beasts are associated with evil powers:

Many bulls encircle me,
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion. …
For dogs are all around me;
a company of evildoers encircles me.
(Ps 22:12,13,16)

Psalm 91 has angels protecting the psalmist from wild beasts.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. (Ps 91:11-13)

Finally, in the account of creation in Genesis the first humans coexisted peacefully with animals:
God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ (Gen. 1:28)

So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field. (Gen. 2:19-20)

This kind of peaceful coexistence is also part of the hope of the renewed creation in Isaiah

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea. (Isa. 11:6-9, cp. 65:24-25).

THE VISION OF PEACE
We can see in Mark's account of Jesus in the desert, then, a hint or a hope of the new creation of harmony and peace that will one day be brought about by Him.

The season of Lent is a good time for me to work at my part of bringing the “Peaceable Kingdom” into existence in my world and in my heart. During this holy season I can strive consciously to treat a certain person with more patience or compassion, I can take a step toward reconciliation with someone from whom I’ve become distanced. The ideas for “Lenten resolutions” in this area are countless.

What about bringing about the “peaceable kingdom” inside my own heart? Well, the idea of fasting is to lessen the hold that “the tempter” has on me precisely by taming, with God’s help, the unruly passions in me that try to run my life. Sort of like calling on the angels to help me with the “beasts” that threaten me. This is not about body-hating; in fact it’s just the opposite. The goal of my Lenten fast is that the world of instincts and the world of the spirit can come together in harmony so that I can live in tranquility with myself and with others, and so help bring about “that peace which the world cannot give.”

So, what about you? What specific things will you do during these forty days in the wilderness to help bring about Jesus’s dream of a “peaceable kingdom” in your heart and in your world?

"The Peaceable Kingdom" Edward Hicks (1780 - 1849)

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LENT WITHOUT BOUNDARIES

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CELEBRATING THE SEASON ALONE

Imagine celebrating Christmas alone, all by yourself. Each member of your family is doing his or her own Christmas in secret (or at least you presume they are), just as they had all gotten ready for Christmas individually, without a word about it to anyone. Or imagine Easter with each Christian marking the day with his or her own private, personal celebration, sharing nothing of the feast with others.

Many Christians who would find these two scenarios unthinkable, however, seem to have no trouble celebrating Lent privately, all by themselves, concentrating on their own secret observances and focused on their personal life of prayer and penitence.

LENT IS A COMMUNITY THING

We have pushed way into the background the fact that Lent was originally and still is a liturgical season, as much a part of the church’s communal public worship as Christmas or Easter. Over the centuries, however, many factors have conspired to bring about a “me-and-God” view of Lent, not the least of which is the overemphasis on the penitential side. If Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that we must not let anyone else know when we are fasting or giving alms, and this is what Lent is all about, then Lent is a private affair.

When St. Benedict wrote about the observance of Lent the season was still marked by a wide variety of practices such as prayer and holy reading (See blog for Feb. 13, 2010), and was clearly considered a community affair. The entire chapter on Lent presumes that it is “the entire community” that is celebrating Lent, and speaks in terms of what “we” are to do during Lent. Toward the end of the chapter Benedict finally speaks of individual practices, “let each one deny himself some food, drink, sleep, needless talking and idle jesting,” but he immediately follows this with a stern warning: “Everyone should, however make known to the abbot what he intends to do, since it ought to be done with his prayer and approval. Whatever is undertaken without the permission of the spiritual father will be reckoned as presumption and vainglory, not deserving a reward.” In other words, since Lent is a community celebration no one is supposed to be celebrating a “private Lent” on the side.

LENT IN THE AGE OF INDIVIDUALISM

Observing Lent as a private affair, however, fits perfectly into an age in which we are often isolated from one another by headphones, watching separate televisions in our rooms, even dialing up our individual preference on our separate video screen on an airplane. Private Lenten practices tailored to my needs? Sounds good to me!

I would like to suggest that it is worth trying to recover some more of the communal element of our Lenten celebration.

LENT AT HOME

We decorate our homes for Christmas weeks ahead of time and put up Easter decorations of all sorts and no one bats an eye. What about a simple decoration or two in your house to remind the family (or just yourself if you live alone) that we’re celebrating the season of Lent together? Some touches of the color violet, for example, or an open bible placed in a prominent spot with a candle next to it. Or what about some simple practice such as saying grace or praying together as a family each day for a few minutes? What about agreeing that the family will not have dessert on Fridays in Lent as a communal practice of penance? Or arranging to eat a meal together now and then. We may be living more and more in isolation from one another, but we are still creatures who naturally create symbols and who crave community.

PRAYING IN UNION WITH THE CHURCH

Some people who cannot get to mass on weekdays in Lent stay in touch with the wider church by reading the scripture passages assigned for mass for that day, knowing that they are hearing the same Word that their brothers and sisters are listening to around the world.

ALMSGIVING

Fasting and almsgiving always went together in the early church. If you were eating and drinking less, then the money you saved on food was supposed to be given to the poor. Thus a very private act such as giving up a certain amount or kind of food had an effect in the wider community because it allowed you to give something more to the poor. Those mite boxes that were part of my childhood were a great opportunity to make Lent a communal event, although nobody ever pointed that out to me at the time. It never occurred to me that my coins actually went somewhere and were use to help other people.

IN SOLIDARITY WITH THOSE IN NEED

In my Feb. 20, 2010 blog I gave a long quotation from the Orthodox theologian Paul Evdokimov. I want to cite one paragraph again here. “Loveless mortification can never lead to God. Saint Maximus says: "We shall be judged for the wrong we have done, but still more for the good we have neglected to do and for not loving our neighbor." Spiritual life today requires an asceticism that shields the soul from the world's pressures and calls for the overcoming of evil by the creation of good. This means it is never more than a means, a strategy. It is possible for a person to surround himself with an atmosphere of morbid fantasy, seeing nothing around him but sin and evil. But the ascesis of the gospel overcomes by excess, not of fear, but of overflowing love embracing the entire universe.”

How might we move toward a Lent of “overflowing love embracing the entire universe?” I would like to offer some thoughts just to get the ball rolling.

SELF-SACRIFICE CLOSE TO HOME

We could choose a Lenten practice that involves helping some particular person. Visiting my invalid aunt once a week or phoning a lonely friend, or calling on a former neighbor who is confined to a nursing home. The penance of giving up my time has now spread beyond me to become an act of love that brings joy to others.

EMBRACING THE ENTIRE WORLD

We could make ours a more loving Lent by adopting a particular cause or charity during the season, donating time or money for the benefit of others whom we don’t even know.

There may be some global problem that particularly touches us but that frustrates us at the same time because there’s nothing much we can do about it. Child abuse, for example, or the fact that a huge fraction of the world’s population lacks safe drinking water. Besides looking for some small way we may actually help address that issue, we can also link some Lenten practice with that issue so that our vision of the world is broadened and our sensitivity to the world’s suffering grows toward “overflowing love embracing the entire universe.” For example, whenever I take a drink of cold water I may consciously remember the millions of people who have do not have decent water to drink. Or I can keep myself sensitive to the evil of child slavery by making a point of treating the children I meet as persons whose opinion matters to me and whose feelings I respect. This not only deepens my sensitivity to a world problem but helps a child experience God’s love firsthand.

I hope that these ideas may be of some use on your Lenten journey, or have at least provoked some thought. If you have some more ideas please contribute them below so others can benefit from them. After all, Lent IS a communal thing, right?

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LENTEN PRACTICES FOR TODAY

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The imposed quiet of a "snow day" today suggested the idea of following up on one of the ideas found in last weeks’ reflection by Paul Evdokimov.

Twenty-first Century Self-Denial

The first thought I want to comment on follows his idea that 21st Century self-denial must reflect and respond to the present age. Evdokimov wrote: “Today's mortification is that which sets us free from reliance on ‘doping’ -- high speed, noise, stimulants, drugs, alcohol in all its forms. Self-denial will consist in imposing quietude on oneself, a discipline of silence and calm, so that a person may recover the ability to call a halt for prayer and contemplation, even in the midst of the world's noise, on the train, in a crowd, in the city's public places; but above all, the ability to be sensitive to the presence of others, to every friend one encounters.”

The idea of “imposing quietude on oneself, a discipline of silence and calm” for Lent certainly must ring true for many of us who lead such rushed, over-crowded and non-reflective lives.

A Lesson from The Subway

New York subway riders are familiar with the odd-looking indentations about a foot deep and shaped like blank doorways that are spaced all along the subway tunnel walls. These are designed to be used by subway maintenance workers in the event that a train comes along unexpectedly and catches them on the tracks. A worker can just slip into one of these indentations and wait there safely as the train roars by.

Harried and hurried subway riders and all of us in fact could draw a useful lesson from those familiar safety spaces designed into the subway tunnel walls. Many of us have convinced ourselves that our frantic mind-numbing busyness is normal and necessary and that we can’t possibly slow down or find any empty, quiet spaces even though we sometimes feel as if an express train is coming down the track at us.

Lent is a good time to discipline ourselves by providing some regular quiet escape times in our lives. If fasting from our constant busyness takes some sacrifice, then so be it --that’s what asceticism looks like in 2010.

With Cheerful Hearts

Evdokimov then continues, “Instead of self-inflicted penances, this kind of fasting will demand the glad renunciation of whatever is superfluous in order to share with the poor, and the maintenance of a cheerful, peaceful, and natural equanimity.”

I’d like to concentrate on the last phrase, “the maintenance of a cheerful, peaceful, and natural equanimity.” If our thoughtful slowing down, our fasting from constant rushing were indeed to result in “a cheerful, peaceful and natural equanimity” then we certainly would be ready for the joy of Easter, and would have helped others to be ready as well.

I especially like the idea of this kind of 21st century fasting because it’s so obviously wholesome and good for us and for those around us; it points us again in the direction of living more truly human lives in the face of the modern world’s mindless rush toward impersonal materialism. Evdokimov puts it this way:

Going beyond the psychosomatic asceticism of the middle ages, we now strive for the eschatological ascesis of the first centuries, that attitude of faith which made the whole of human life a joyous waiting for the parousia; not a chronological but a qualitative waiting, with the gaze fixed on the one thing necessary; for according to the Good News the time is short, and the Spirit and the Bride say, Come! .

May we each learn how to fast in our fast-paced world!

.............Sushila Burgess, "Woman in Red Dress," paint on ceramic tile

A GUEST SPEAKER FOR LENT

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Some Thoughts on Fasting

Paul Evdokimov (1901-1970), an ecumenically-minded Orthodox theologian popular as well in Catholic and Protestant circles, wrote the following about asceticism. I think the passage is worth sharing. I've highlighted parts that I may want to comment on later, forgive me if that proves a distraction.

Asceticism has its variation, reflecting the specific age in which it is practiced, and adapted to its mentality. Our physical sensitivity has been modified by living conditions today, weighed down as we are by overwork and nervous strain. Though medical science protects and prolongs life, it also diminishes our resistance to pain and privations. Christian asceticism is never an end in itself; it is only a means or method to be put at the service of life, able to adapt itself to new exigencies.

In former days the asceticism of the desert fathers imposed extreme fasts and deprivations. Today's combat is different. No longer is a person required to add to his suffering; with the use of haircloth, chains, and scourges comes the risk of quite profitless bruising. Today's mortification is that which sets us free from reliance on "doping” -- high speed, noise, stimulants, drugs, alcohol in all its forms. Self-denial will consist in imposing quietude on oneself, a discipline of silence and calm, so that a person may recover the ability to call a halt for prayer and contemplation, even in the midst of the world's noise, on the train, in a crowd, in the city's public places; but above all, the ability to be sensitive to the presence of others, to every friend one encounters. Instead of self- inflicted penances, this kind of fasting will demand the glad renunciation of whatever is superfluous in order to share with the poor, and the maintenance of a cheerful, peaceful, and natural equanimity. Going beyond the psychosomatic asceticism of the middle ages, we now strive for the eschatological ascesis of the first centuries, that attitude of faith which made the whole of human life a joyous waiting for the parousia; not a chronological but a qualitative waiting, with the gaze fixed on the one thing necessary; for according to the Good News the time is short, and the Spirit and the Bride say, Come!

Thus asceticism becomes close attention to the call of the gospel, to the standards of the beatitudes; purity and humility of heart are sought after with a view to saving one's fellow-citizens and bringing them back to God. Our task in this weary world, driven on by rhythms of increasing speed, burdened with so many anxieties, is to rediscover and live out the doctrine of "spiritual childhood," the evangelical freshness and simplicity of the "little way" which leads us to sit at the same table with sinners, to bless and break bread together.

Loveless mortification can never lead to God. Saint Maximus says: "We shall be judged for the wrong we have done, but still more for the good we have neglected to do and for not loving our neighbor." Spiritual life today requires an asceticism that shields the soul from the world's pressures and calls for the overcoming of evil by the creation of good. This means it is never more than a means, a strategy. It is possible for a person to surround himself with an atmosphere of morbid fantasy, seeing nothing around him but sin and evil. But the ascesis of the gospel overcomes by excess, not of fear, but of overflowing love embracing the entire universe.

Saint Dorotheus gives us a lovely image of our way to salvation by means of a circle. God is the center and all human beings are on the circumference. The more they approach the center the nearer the radii of the circle will draw to each other. Saint Isaac said to his disciple: "Look, brother, here are your orders: let mercy always weigh heaviest on your scales until you experience in yourself that mercy which God feels for you and for the whole world."

-- Paul Evdokimov, Orthodoxy, 34-35, 41; cited in A Word in Season (Augustinian Press, 2001) Vol II, pp 159-160.

LENT FOR TROUBLED TIMES

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One side effect of our current economic problems is that many people have been forced into triage, reconsidering their priorities; deprived of financial security or unable to afford certain accustomed material amenities, they have rediscovered that other world of important non-material values that usually gets buried beneath the piles of possessions or crowded out by concerns for the passing things of life.

Another effect of the imposed hardships of our current economic situation is that they offer us an opportunity to reconsider the spiritual purpose of Lent.

LENT IN TROUBLED TIMES

Our current economic woes may have some of us scratching our heads trying to figure out what to do for Lent: if Lent is a time for “giving things up,” what happens if I’ve already had to give up many pleasures and amenities or even been deprived of my job or my 401k?
If Lent is simply a time for doing without
If Lent is simply a time for cutting back
If Lent is simply a time for practicing austerity
then many Americans have been in an involuntary Lent for two years.

So if we are already doing the austerity part, we need to look deeper to find other purposes and practices for Lent. The good news is that a deeper look at Lent will reveal a whole complex variety of other approaches to the holy season.

THE LENTEN PILGRIMAGE GROUP

This is the place to plug one of my books. Pilgrim Road: A Benedictine Journey through Lent takes exactly this deeper approach Lent by looking other practices in addition to “giving things up for Lent.” There are people who re-read this book each Lent, using its forty daily meditations set in various countries as their itinerary for a spiritual Lenten pilgrimage toward Easter. This year our “pilgrimage group” already includes members in California, Florida, Pennsylvania and England. Please get a book and join us!

THE REVEALING HISTORY OF LENT

[I used this adaptation of the Introduction to Pilgrim Road in one of the very first posts on this blog a year ago, but it bears repeating here.]
Originally Lent was a period during which the catechumens (candidates for Christian initiation) prepared for their Baptism, which would take place at the Easter vigil. Before long, however, all Christians began observing Lent as the Church's official season of preparation for Easter. It was a forty-day period characterized by prayer, introspection, almsgiving, self-denial and the exercise of virtue.Unfortunately, during the Middle Ages, as popular Christian spirituality began to emphasize the sufferings of Christ, the rich variety of Lenten practices was reduced to the single dimension of penitence: fasting, abstinence from meat, and “giving up” certain things. Even though recent scriptural theology and liturgical reforms have helped restore many of the forgotten aspects of Lent, many Christians still see the season almost entirely in terms of the narrower, single-dimensional view.

BENEDICT OF NURSIA ON LENT

Saint Benedict's Rule for Monks, written in the Sixth Century, which still provides us Benedictines with wise guidance for living, has a lot to offer to Christian lay people as well. Benedict's perspective on Lent, then, dates from an era when the observance of Lent was still marked by a rich variety of purposes and practices. Chapter 49, "On the Manner of Keeping Lent," is worth quoting in full:

The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent. Since few, however, have the strength for this, we urge the entire community during these days of Lent to keep its manner of life most pure and to wash away in this holy season the negligences of other times. This we can do in a fitting manner by refusing to indulge evil habits and by devoting ourselves to prayer with tears, to reading, to compunction of heart and self-denial. During these days, therefore, we will add to the usual measure of our service something by way of private prayer and abstinence from food or drink, so that each of us will have something above the assigned measure to offer God of his own will with the joy of the Holy Spirit. In other words, let each one deny himself some food, drink, sleep, needless talking and idle jesting, and look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing.Everyone should, however make known to the abbot what he intends to do, since it ought to be done with his prayer and approval. Whatever is undertaken without the permission of the spiritual father will be reckoned as presumption and vainglory, not deserving a reward. Therefore, everything must be done with the abbot's approval.
-- Chapter 49, "On the Manner of Keeping Lent," RB 1980: The Rule of Benedict, edited by Timothy Fry, ( Collegeville MN, Liturgical Press, 1981) p. 172

Benedict's treatment of the holy season was written during a time of violent economic, social and moral upheaval, and was written for monks who never ate meat and who were used to physical deprivations and fasting as part of their monastic regime. But for our purposes we may note that it also reflects the sixth century's notion that Lent is an opportunity to "add to the usual measure of our service," not just by bodily mortification, but by drawing closer to God in prayer, by trying to root out bad habits, and by practicing virtues. In the Chapter "On the Daily Manual Labor," he directs that during Lent each monk be given a book to read, and that more time be allotted for reading. Benedict's attitude and approach toward Lent reach back to the days of the catechumens who would "look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing." It is significant that the only two times the word gaudium, "joy," appears in this sober Latin document are in this chapter on Lent, where it refers to the anticipated joy of our goal, "holy Easter."

Other Lenten Helps from Benedict

Besides reflecting the sixth century theology of Lent, Chapter 49 also reveals some general characteristics of Benedict's Rule which might be helpful for any Christian to keep in mind. First, there is the primacy that he always gives to interior attitude and disposition over mere externals: his Lent is marked more by inner transformation than by outward observances.
Second, we see here an instance of his well-known sense of moderation: the abbot is to make sure that the monks do not go to extremes in their Lenten observance.
Third, the Rule repeatedly challenges the monks to deal honestly and humbly with their own imperfections, and so during Lent they are to “wash away the negligences of other times."
Last, there is Benedict's emphasis on community: Lenten penance in the monastery is a communal exercise, to be celebrated by “the whole community;” no individual may engage in any "private" Lenten practice without the abbot's command.

When Benedict says that “the life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent,” he is offering an insight that is useful for any Christian: whatever we do in Lent (including prayer, holy reading, and acts of charity) is really what we ought to be doing during the rest of the year as well. Thus the lessons drawn from our Lenten pilgrimage should be helpful any time of the year.

I have to admit that it took me some time to get comfortable with the idea that there could be more to Lent than simply penance and mortification. I felt as if I were trying to wriggle out from under the hardships of the season. Perhaps Benedict with his calm moderation and his emphasis on interior transformation and community would make a good choice for "patron saint of Lent?"

During the coming weeks I hope to share with you some of my reflections on the keeping of Lent. I pray that the Spirit will guide each of us on our Lenten pilgrimage and give us a deeply meaningful experience of God’s love during this holy season.

P.S. I'm preparing to give a Lenten day of recollection in Convent Station NJ on Saturday March 13, 2010.

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LENT OUTSIDE THE BOX

Lenten Tips from the Catholic Catechism
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, first published in 1992, says practically nothing about the season of Lent. But it includes in the article entitled "The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation" (par. 1422-1498) a section on "The Many Forms of Penance in Christian Life" which shows the original wider variety of penitential practices I alluded to in my Feb. 23 article on Saint Benedict and the "Forgotten Aspects of Lent." Notice that in the in the following two paragraphs from the Catechism "fasting" comes up only once in each. The other practices almost all have to do with our relationships. Perhaps a look at these excerpts from the Catechism can help us think of some creative ways of making Lent more than just a time for "giving things up," but a time of real conversion.

The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others. Alongside the radical purification brought about by Baptism or martyrdom they cite as means of obtaining forgiveness of sins: effort at reconciliation with one's neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the salvation of one's neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of charity "which covers a multitude of sins." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1434)

The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church's penitential practice. These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works). (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1438)

Lent: A Call to Conversion
First, notice that the purpose of the traditional forms of penance, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, is to " express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others." This means that Lent, our season of penance, is for the purpose of conversion. But conversion is not supposed to be a temporary condition, is it? Yet many of us take on Lenten practices as self-contained projects that are designed to last for forty days and then come to an end at Easter. The emphasis on giving up certain things for the forty days distracts us, it seems to me, from the central ongoing Christian project of conversion which is, after all, never finished. In the paragraphs cited above we find other expressions of penance such as "effort at reconciliation with one's neighbor," "concern for the salvation of one's neighbor" and "the practice of charity," which do not lend themselves to the notion of a temporary effort which lasts for only forty days.

These two paragraphs with their emphasis on "conversion" (which means "turning ourselves around") and their constant repetition of the word "neighbor" encourage us to consider Lent more as a time for renewing our life-long commitment to following the Lord along a "Pilgrim Road" that doesn't end at Easter but in heaven.

Your Unique Call to Conversion
Alongside the traditional practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, then, each of us might look at our own life and come up with some unique practices based on such things as "what I'm most grateful for" or "what I'm most passionate about." If I realize that I delight in listening to music, I might express my gratitude (my conversion) by contributing to a charity for the hearing impaired; if I am deeply grateful for my grandchildren, I might express my "practice of charity" this Lent by volunteering to sort baby clothes at a local shelter for pregnant girls. Maybe one of my great joys was a wonderful visit to Yellowstone National Park; so I offer to show my slides at a local senior citizens' home. Maybe there's a certain relative who I just can't stand -- for plenty of good reasons -- so I decide to start to pray hard for him every day.

These practices definitely fall under the definition of "fraternal charity" in the church's traditional list of penitential practices. But in addition, when I come home from the senior citizens' residence my fasting and Lenten devotions will take on a new dimension, one which points me further along the Pilgrim Road of constant conversion well past the end of Lent and toward the eternal Easter where all of us, rich and poor, friends and enemies will be united in the risen Lord's boundless victorious Love.

Reflection:

In the past I've definitely tended to spend my Lent "inside the box;" what about you? Does "Lent outside the box" make sense to you? Or are you more comfortable with the fasting and prayer approach? Have you ever tried some non-traditional, more personalized expression of conversion during Lent?

LENTEN JOURNEY: ROUGH ROAD AHEAD

The medieval pilgrim's road was fraught with problems and perils: sudden mountain storms, highway bandits, the crossfire of warring armies, not to mention the withering heat of summer or the normal hardships of travel in those days. The problems were part of the pilgrimage, the price you paid for the privilege. So a pilgrim could not afford to be naïve, but rather had to be prepared for the dangers and discouragements that could delay or even put an end to the pilgrimage.

ROUGH SPOTS ON THE PILGRIM ROAD
As we travel our Lenten journey, we, like those intrepid pilgrims on the road to Compostela, should expect to meet all sorts of difficulties and temptations on the way.
The Judeo-Christian tradition has various metaphors for this resistance, whether internal or external, that we encounter whenever we try to respond to God's call to conversion of heart. Here are just a few of those images:
Trials in the Desert. During their forty years in the wilderness God sends the Israelites various hardships such as thirst, hunger or marauding tribes to test their faith and their trust in Yahweh. Unfortunately, the People of God usually fail the test and give in to the temptations.
The "sinful Adam" in us. Saint Paul complains "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. … But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me" (Rom. 7:15,17).
Holy Combat. In the language of the early monastic tradition, the spiritual life is a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil, and the battleground is the human heart. The desert fathers and mothers spoke all the time of the demons who constantly try to discourage us by disrupting any good work we begin.
Misdirected Love. Saint Augustine teaches that our one basic desire is for God; but our passions get disordered and we begin to pursue other lesser loves, created ones, instead of God.
"The False Self." Thomas Merton uses this image to describe the resistance we experience in ourselves when we try to respond freely and authentically to God's call to conversion; the "false self" tries to take over and push us toward selfish, inauthentic behavior.

All of these metaphors describe the same phenomenon: there is something in us that resists the movement toward mature, self-giving love. They also teach, implicitly or explicitly, that we ourselves are powerless against these forces, and that we need God's help to overcome them.

MY TWO YEAR-OLD IN LENT
When I'm doing a little fasting in Lent a little voice inside me complains, "I'm hungry! I want a cookie!" And when I'm spending some extra time in prayer, the same voice whines, "I worked hard today, so I want to relax and watch television or read a spy novel!" I think of this resistance I experience inside me as the voice of my "spoiled two year-old" raising a ruckus or throwing a tantrum. I've gotten used to him over the years, but I have to admit that his persistent pestering can wear me down at times. Woops! I just reached for the cookie jar!

WEEK TWO: HOLY COMBAT
The meditations for Week Two in Pilgrim Road all have to do with the "holy combat" that we need to engage in if we want to achieve our spiritual goals. We need to remember, though, that what was true of the Israelites fighting Amalek in the wilderness (Ex. 17: 8-13) is also true of us: it is the Lord who is fighting our battles for us; so we need to pray constantly, asking the Lord to help us with "mighty hand and outstretched arm" during Lent. We should pray for one another as well. (I pray for each of you every day, and could certainly use your prayers!)


Discussion:
What about you? Have you ever had to deal with your own inner two year old during Lent? Do you see this little person as a normal part of the Lenten experience or just a nuisance and a distraction? Or maybe you have an entirely different way of thinking about the challenges of the Lenten journey.

LENT WITH MARTHA AND MARY

The story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42) illustrates the two sides of hospitality. Martha exercises hospitality by bustling around getting the meal ready for Jesus. Mary exercises hospitality by giving her rapt attention to the guest. Both are practicing hospitality, but Luke seems to be saying that Mary is exercising the "one thing necessary" for hospitality by giving the guest her undivided attention, while the other aspects are less important. Martha, who is "busy with many things" starts to lose her sense of perspective; she becomes resentful of her sister and starts slamming the pots and pans in the kitchen.

"Doing" and "Seeing"
Without getting any deeper into scriptural interpretation, I would suggest that the story of Martha and Mary points up a tension between two important aspects of Christian life, "doing" and "seeing." There's a side of us that likes to accomplish useful tasks, to get things done. But there's another side of us as well, one often neglected in our action-oriented culture, that needs to see the meaning of all this activity. People who never slow down or stop to look at the meaning of what they are doing start to sense that something vital is missing from their life, that their existence is pointless. We could say that Martha represents our "doing" side, and Mary our "seeing" side.

Martha's Lent
The church has always encouraged the "seeing" side of Lent with public meditation on the stations of the cross and encouraging daily mass and the sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance). But for many centuries popular Christian piety left the keeping of Lent in the hands of Martha. This is a dangerous approach, because when Martha is left alone in the kitchen she tends to get preoccupied with the practical details of "many things," and forgets why she's doing all of this work. As a youngster in the 1950's I noticed that for some Christians Lent seemed to mean measuring how many ounces they were eating at breakfast and lunch, while others would concentrate their efforts so much on self-mortification that they became mean and nasty to everyone around them.
When Jesus tells Martha (Luke 10:41), "you are anxious and upset…," the Greek word for "upset" is thorubazomai; literally Jesus is telling Martha "You are putting yourself in an uproar." Martha has put many a Christian into an uproar over the keeping of Lent: "If Fridays are meatless, aren't you breaking the rules if you use up that beef stock to make vegetable soup?" "You gave up cake, but is it okay to eat this dessert since your hostess would be insulted if you refused?" "If you have to leave mass early this morning to get to that meeting, doesn't that break your Lenten resolution to attend daily mass?"
As far as keeping our Lenten observances, we will do well to remember Jesus' kindly words to his harried hostess: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things, but only one thing is necessary."

Lent as a Sister Act
Martha and Mary need each other. They are, after all, sisters and have to learn how to live and work in harmony under the same roof. Each of them brings something valuable to our observance of Lent.
Martha contributes her list of things she will do for Lent, including certain things she will give up. She details exactly how many times a week she will do each particular thing, and maybe at what time of day. This is the very necessary practical side of Lent.
Mary contributes a set of goals: she hopes to listen more attentively to the Lord through some extra scripture reading, to draw closer to him by going to mass during the week, and to learn about her inner life through times of introspective prayer.
Mary can't do Lent all by herself. All of her "seeing," her meditations and her insights will mean nothing unless Martha shows her how to put them into loving practice so that they bear fruit in loving action toward others.
Martha needs Mary so she won't forget the reason behind all her Lenten "doing" of fasting, penance and good works.

The theme for this week in Pilgrim Road is the inward journey with Christ into our deepest self. Not much there about fasting and almsgiving! So, as we continue our pilgrimage, let us be sure to invite both Martha and Mary to accompany us, so that together they may help us with both aspects of our Lenten journey, the "doing" and the "seeing."

For Discussion:

What aspects of Lenten observance do you find most helpful? Which ones do you find least helpful?

Please do share some of your thoughts by writing in the "comments" box below so we can all learn from one another.

DOES SUNDAY COUNT?

The Great Chocolate Debate
It's an age-old question for people who are serious about keeping their Lenten resolutions: Does Sunday count? A few times each Lent people will consult me, the priest, with questions such as: "I gave up chocolate for Lent, but Sundays aren't Lent, right? So isn't it okay for me to eat chocolate on Sundays?" How have you answered this question for yourself? Does Lent extend in an unbroken line from Ash Wednesday to Easter, or is it a collection of forty discrete and separate days -- which does not include Sundays?

The reason for not counting the Sundays is that Christians never fast on Sunday; so in order to "fast and pray" with Christ for the symbolic forty days he spent in the desert (Mt. 4:1 ff.), the church adds a few days at the front to get to the proper number -- that's why Lent begins on a Wednesday, making it the only liturgical season that does not begin on a Sunday.

A Different Angle
Yes, if Lent is only about fasting, then Sunday is a "day off." But what if we take the original wider view, and see Lent as a time for a rich variety of practices in preparation for Easter? Then Sunday takes on a very different aspect. Listen to these questions: "Each day in Lent I'm spending fifteen minutes reading my bible, listening for what the Lord may want to say to me; but Sundays aren't Lent, right? So I don't read my scripture on Sundays." "During Lent I'm trying to be extra patient with my ageing father who I'm caring for; but Sundays aren't Lent, right? So that means…"

The Church treats the Sundays in Lent with special reverence, and has carefully chosen the mass readings and composed the orations to help enrich us and encourage us on the journey. Are Sundays part of Lent! They are like booster stations on the way to Easter, little foretastes and previews of the Sunday toward which the Pilgrim Church is heading. Take advantage of these special days, and use them as opportunities for extra prayer, deeds of charity, and almsgiving; let them give you ahead of time a taste of what Benedict calls "the joy of holy Easter."

My New Position on the Great Chocolate Debate
From someone who, I admit, has often eaten ice cream on Lenten Sundays in the past, here's one possible take on the Great Chocolate Debate. If I were on a long pilgrimage with a group, what would happen if I flew home each Saturday night and returned to the pilgrimage on Monday morning? Would I lose something of the continuity, say, or miss some of the feeling of mounting excitement as the group got closer to the destination? Maybe I won't fly home on Sundays this year.

Discussion:
How do you celebrate Sundays during Lent? Maybe you do something that others of us could try?