Celebrating Lent

Most of us have favorite holiday seasons. For some it's Christmas, with the family get‑togethers and presents. For others it's the Fourth of July and summer, filled by a sense of national pride and beach vacations. But each year at just about this time, it strikes me that very few of us would pick Lent, a season that seems out of place for many of us. Somehow, like the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we cannot seem to make a good connection with Lent. It feels like this strange, weirdly anachronistic holiday that celebrates things we don't value and encourages attitudes we don't share. Rarely is there the same kind of enthusiasm or expectancy which greets Advent. No Lenten Dinners and Parties, not many Lenten hymns to sing. There are no presents at the end, and no fun and games along the way. Then we have to reflect on the themes of Lent that trouble us. Penitence. Sacrifice. Contemplation. Meditation.  But you know what? We all need Lent. Just maybe I need a time to focus, to get my mind off of my career, my social life, my next writing project, spending more time with the children – maybe I need these 40 days to help clear my head of the distractions and temptations that now dominate our lives. Maybe we need to clear my eyes of the glaze of indifference and apathy. Maybe we need to be more tolerant with those who rub us the wrong way, especially members of our own family.  Maybe we need to understand that God is in control of our lives, and be patient in not being able to do what our mind tells us. Maybe Lent comes to us to remind us of what was promised me at Baptism: "You are mine! I love you! I am with you!" Let us see Lent as a gift of the church, the season during which God prepares us to behold God's own great sacrifice for us, with the hope and prayer that, come Good Friday and Easter, we may be immersed once again into God's mercy and perceive more fully God's great love for us and all the world.