It's the early 1960s. Inside the front door of my 8th grade classroom, the bulletin board shouts in bold letters: "I LOVE LENT!" Imagine the kids' reactions! But it was true! And still is. The gloom and doom of earlier Lents gave way to the truer experience most of us have. . . 40 focused days of reflection, joy, hope, freshness, Springtime! Energy erupts unbidden, pushing up from the center of creation, surging in body, soul, and spirit. Thus we discover that the Anglo-Saxon word for Springtime is the root word for Lent. 
How do we come to the new stories, the truth, our truth, which are longing to be told in our lives? How can we enter our lives anew during this holy time, shedding old labels and discomforts which keep us in prison? How can we touch that sacred place within us so full of love and possibility? How can we become more attentive to God, Great Mystery, the One in whom we live and move and have our being?
No matter what practices we choose for our Lenten journey (it's only for 40 days after all), allow them to bring freshness to our days and our thinking. Let them bring us to a greater awareness of the "within" of things.
We fast from technology one day each week and experience a liberation(!),
an uncluttered bit of time to be.
an uncluttered bit of time to be.
We listen to Earth awakening; allured out of doors to participate in spring's great promise.
We listen reflectively to our written scriptures and their Promise of Life.
We practice a fast or almsgiving that brings us into solidarity with the hungers of our world.
We practice happiness, the joy of remembering how deeply we are loved.
May this Lent bring us all to a deeper attention to the Sacred WITHIN of things, God's within, your own "within" and the ever-widening circle of our Love and Compassion.
Mary Southard, CSJ
Mary Southard, CSJ
www.ministryofthearts.org
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