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Ash Wednesday February 17, 2021: Best Lent Yet

 

So what are you going to do for Lent this year? You could do the minimal, which is abstaining from meat today and all the Fridays of Lent (but then going to an “All You Can Eat Lobster Fest” seems contradictory). Or the minimal with fasting today (meaning only one regular size meal). You could do the same pathetic “giving up” something . . . that you should be giving up anyway.   I mean, giving up daily Twinkies is hardly admirable.

 

But maybe this could be your “best Lent ever.” By that I mean to figure out how you can get closer to God in these next 40+ days. As I wrote in the bulletin cover this past Sunday, it could be with or without.

 

In formal theology, there are actually fancy terms to describe this. The kataphatic approach is when we move (i.e. love) with words, concepts and ideas.   And the other approach is the apophatic or “negative” way. This is, when you move beyond words and images into the silence or emptiness. An example is looking at a sunset. Kataphatic is seeing the sun, the landscape, the clouds. The apophatic approach is to honor the space/color between the clouds, or the open area just over the horizon.

 

To “do something” might involve:

 

  • Committing to the daily Lent denotational
  • Attending Stations of the Cross (which will occur live every Friday, and live every other Tuesday with on-line option on those alternating Tuesdays.
  • Taking part in our in-person Reconciliation which will occur every Friday night, Saturday afternoon and a Reconciliation Service on March 3
  • Reading the scriptures of the day (which are always in the bulletin and on-line).
  • Or using the gift that we are giving you today . . . a daily reflection book based on writings of M Teresa.

 

The “do without something” is what Jesus was talking about in the gospel.   The way of thinking about this is to consider how you can create room for God. We call this fasting. That is, to “give up” something. Now this gets tricky because many of us have given up things in past Lents that we should have be giving up anyway . . . desserts (and their extra calories), alcohol (and its danger of abuse). The real task is to give up something that is inherently good or neutral. Such as a particular TV show, spending time on Facebook, coffee in the morning.

 

The best approach would be to do a combination of both . . . adding something extra, and still creating room for God. The main focus is to DO SOMETHING! Don’t just meander into Lent with the usual “shoulds.” Commit yourself.

 

And this year, we are dispensing ashes differently due to COVID. We will using cotton swabs and they are not as good as human touch, but the purpose is not to have a mark on your forehead and brag about. Actually, the real mark . . . can occur with your actions. So don’t just think about it, or brag about it . . . make this your best Lent ever.

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