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WHAT IS LENT
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The word “Lent” actually comes from Old English, and it means the spring season. That term came to be adopted/adapted to refer to the season of pre-Easter penitence (which, of course, typically falls in spring).
Spring is the time of new life and new growth. This is a wonderful image for us, for allowing our time of more intense prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to make our spirits come to a new growth and deeper life in Christ. The “Church Fathers” recognized that this is the ultimate purpose of the disciplines; without that purpose, our exercises are not really spiritual at all, but rather a version of egotism. This sense is especially true in people like St John Chrysostom, Pope St Leo the Great, and Pope St Gregory the Great, among others. How will we allow our disciplines to transform us in this season?
There is another association that I’d like to offer you—one that is linguistically 100% inappropriate! But when I hear the word “Lent” I also think of the (Italian) musical term “Lento,” meaning slow. To me, this is also a good metaphor for our season. Lent can and perhaps even should be a time of slowing down, giving ourselves time truly to take stock, to step out of the over-paced lives we typically lead. Let’s think about this: where did Jesus go for the “1st Lent”? He went to the desert, alone with God. It was because of this that (humanly speaking) He was able to resist the temptations of Satan: temptations to self-satisfaction, to taking the easy way, to seek glory (temptations to which, in one way or another, all of us can be susceptible).
Perhaps this time one of the best “disciplines” would be seeking times of quiet (without TV, without Facebook, even without music)—true quiet to reflect and to listen for the “still, small voice” of God that Elijah heard at Mt Horeb. Most folks can’t make daily Mass during Lent, but most can sit quietly with the Gospel of the day—a wonderful source for our quiet listening. The more recollected we can be, the more peace-filled we will be, and that will be a beginning to making the world more at peace. We can do this!