An introduction to the spirituality of lent. The meaning of the word ‘lent’. The experience of springtime in the world of nature around us: new life stirring in the trees and shrubs; plants sprouting new shoots, seeds beginning to germinate beneath the earth, daylight lengthening, witnessing a rebirth in nature.
An awakening in nature that awakens a longing in us. A longing for a new springtime in our own lives, in our relationship with god, with our neighbour and with our own selves. A season of hope for growth in our own lives, a looking forward to a new blossoming of all that is best and beautiful within us, an anticipation of the full flowering of our humanity.
Began with the expression of our need of repentance – the wearing of the ash on ash Wednesday. A recognition that we are not all that we could be; that we are not all that we are called to be; that there is something missing in our lives; that we are capable of more. Our starting point is a place of openness, honesty and humility and a desire for something more.
Essentially it is borne of a desire to become more and more like Jesus or better still to realize the presence of Jesus within us; to experience ourselves as made in the image and likeness of jesus; to grow in the mind of Jesus, to grow in the heart of Jesus. To live with the love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, compassion forgiveness and self-giving of Jesus.
In one of the prefaces of lent we pray “As we recall the great events that gave us new life in Christ the image of your son comes to perfection within us.” That is where we are going and while perfection is beyond us we can make progress. We look forward to rising with Jesus at Easter to new life: new courage, new trust, new strength, new love so that his love might shine in us in new and even more creative ways.
But it is not a journey that we make on our own, not just depending on our own strength and will-power because if we are human experience teaches us that it will not last. No, we take the hand of Jesus, and if we are already holding his hand we take an even tighter hold, opening up to an even deeper relationship with him; opening up to an even deeper friendship with him, drawing close to him so as to draw life from him, to be fed by him, to be nourished by him, to be empowered by him, to be transformed by him. Just as the world of nature opens up to the increased light and heat of the sun so we too open up to the light of the son of God, the beauty of the son and the passion of his love. In the ritual of the blessing of the ashes we heard the invitation to “turn away from sin and to believe in the gospel.” Perhaps the experience would be better expressed by putting it the other way round: “Believe in the gospel and turn away from sin.” Our growth in love is the fruit of our turning towards the sun and bathing ourselves in his light. Whatever practises we engage in during this season of lent are a means to this end: that we might turn our lives towards Jesus. And this is where lectio divina fits in as a powerful experience of encounter with Jesus through his Word.
We know that the growth we long for will not be achieved in the twinkling of an eye by the wave of a magic wand but rather that it is an ongoing journey in our lives and not just confined to this time of year but a journey that we celebrate at this time of year and give it a special enphasis in our spiritual life.
The day is come the accepted day
When grace like nature flowers anew
Trained by thy hand the surer way
Rejoice we in our springtime too.