The Lenten Journey

Lent is the season in which we try to “live more nearly as we pray” as
an old hymn put it. Don’t you long to remake some parts of your life to
live more simply, to treat the earth more kindly, to give more
attention and care and appreciation to relationships, to be more
generous and charitable, to have a more peaceful mind and a warmer
heart? I know my own need for these, and I often hear them from others.

There are some good tools to help us change in these directions – they
may sound old-fashioned. Interestingly, almost every religion makes use
of them in some form- because they actually help!

Prayer – remember how your Mom or Dad, or Grandparent used to say,
“When you are ready to cross the street, first stop, look (both ways),
and listen.” Good advice for starting to pray. Stop: be still, be
quiet, put down whatever you are doing, close your eyes if you need to,
quiet your hands from their busyness. Look: turn your attention toward
the eternal. There are lots of ways to do this: gaze at a sacred image,
repeat a mantra – a sacred phrase, reflect inwardly, read a line of
Scripture, ask God to be with you…. Listen: suspend your mind’s
constant chatter. Make space for God to speak (maybe not in words!).
Let there be some silence within you. And a fourth element: Say “thank
you” afterwards.

Fasting – stop eating if you are healthy and haven’t tried this; just
take a break from your meal routine, even for one day (Good Friday, Ash
Wednesday…). Remember the constant experience of all those in the world
who are seriously hungry. Notice your body’s cravings and demands and
say, “wait”. Then for Lent, eat mindfully and differently from your
usual. The tradition of “giving up something for Lent” was one way of
curbing self-indulgence while remembering God and the abundance most of
us enjoy without even noticing or being grateful. Doesn’t matter
whether you stop eating chocolate, drinking alcohol, watching TV after
midnight, or buying new lipsticks – do something meaningful for you
that says, “I am trying to live more aware of God and my neighbor’s
urgent needs, and more respectfully of my body and the world and God.

Self-examination and Confession – as the 12-Steps say, “take a fearless
moral inventory”. Look at your life, especially the most recent part
and own up to God and yourself what you have done wrong, what good you
have avoided doing. Then try to put right what you can. It is not
strictly necessary but it is amazingly helpful to verbalize these
shortcomings to another wise and faithful human being, maybe a priest.
This tells your inward self you are serious about trying to do better
and being honest about yourself. It also helps you believe you are
forgivable — and you are! Love is not never having to say you’re
sorry.

Alms-giving: So you usually give something to charity and your church?
Great. But in Lent give more generously, until you feel a pinch, until
it costs you something you might otherwise like to have or do. Give
thoughtfully. Pray over your checkbook and the choices it signals.
Notice the urgent needs near home, but also select one across the globe
to pay attention to – and then don’t feel you have to do everything for
everyone, just something for someone! It’s not just about blessing
someone else, but about enjoying the great blessing of actually
becoming more generous, a bit more like God.

Scripture-study: Open the Bible every day. Read a chunk. You might want
to pick one Gospel and read it through during Lent, a bit each day,
with time to think about what you’ve read. Does it raise questions?
Pick up a Bible commentary, go online, do some research – or just talk
to some other Bible readers (and your priest) about it. There are lots
of books and pamphlets that offer a Lenten day-by-day Bible reading and
reflection, too.

Go to Church: The Sundays of Lent remain feast days of Jesus Christ’s
resurrection on which one does not fast, though they remain a part of
this reflective and penitent season. Sundays remind us that we are a
loved and forgiven people trying always to live lives worthy of God,
and that we do that best together. Make time, too, for the special
journey of the heart in all the services of Holy Week. Each adds its
piece of the mystery and transformation, and deepens our understanding
of how we get from the cross to Easter in our own lives.

Have a blessed Lent!

The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Phillips

30 hour famine

Young adults of St. Augustine’s  parish participated in the diocesan
“30 hour Famine” event this month. We fasted for two days, raised money
for World Vision – an organization that relieves child hunger in the
developing world, and had a lock-in overnight at St. john’s Church in
Barrington . We formed five “tribes” each representing a country in
Latin America where child hunger and lack of education are problems.
The tribes competed in learning games that raised our consciousness
about factors that contribute to hunger and result from it – an
exercise in compassion for young people growing up in circumstances
very different from our own. We also enjoyed a movie, drank vast
quantities of juice and water, and spent a day and half without
electronic devices (maybe THAT was a harder fast than being without
food)! These photos show some of the exercises at the gathering of
youth, led by Mary-Anne Kolakowski (diocesan Resource Center Director)
and Becky Geittel. Rector Jennifer Phillips, and youth leaders from
several other parishes mentored the program.