"We Rise Again from Ashes..."

The above line from a Lenten hymn comes to my mind each year as we prepare not only for Ash Wednesday but for our Lenten journey to Holy Week and the Easter celebrations. As Fr. Bill wrote in his column last week, the word Lent means "spring". As we look forward to early spring flowers breaking through the formerly frozen, dark soil, this provides an image of what we hope to experience in this season of spiritual renewal and growth. We start with the humility of ashes, but we end rising up with Christ!

I recently returned from a week of spiritual retreat. All priests are asked to set aside a week each year to dedicate to prayer and spiritual renewal. As I head off to retreat each year, I find I often stress about making the most of the opportunity and worry if in my prayer time God is going to challenge me to make changes in my life that I don't feel ready to make. Perhaps you have some similar thoughts and feelings as we approach Lent each year, such as regrets that we didn't do as much as we hoped last Lent, uncertainty about what to do to make this Lent special, even worries about guilt and sin. But I find that at the end of every retreat (and most Lenten seasons), I have come to realize that God has challenged me to change in some ways, but far surpassing the challenge has been a renewed experience of the depth of God's love. That is my prayer for each of us this Lent: that we follow Jesus' call, "be not afraid" of the ways He may challenge us to grow in these forty days, and look forward to many ways that God wants us to experience his love.

I found talks given by the retreat director this year were very helpful - challenging, but lovingly helpful words from a brother priest who knows what our lives are like, how we need to be patient with ourselves and others. But he also challenged us to take seriously the Lenten practice of fasting and sacrifice. In line with Fr. Bill's "spring training" analogy from last week, giving things up - especially marking a day now and then with fasting from snacks or fancy food - helps us to practice saying "no" to things we are attracted to. Food is not a bad thing, but occasional fasting helps us be strong enough to say "no" to sinful temptations when we face them. As we make personal sacrifices this Lent, we are called to be united in two practices in common with the whole Church: fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent. Fasting is only required of Catholics ages 18-59, where we are limited to only one full meal and two smaller meals, as necessary to maintain strength, but no solid foods between meals. Abstinence is to be observed by all Catholics 14 and older (there is no upper limit since this is easier to do). The intention is that this is a sacrifice, not that we use this as an opportunity to go out for an elaborate seafood meal!

With both our personal practices and those we do in common, may we always keep them in the context of that "spring training" that challenges us to grow but even more so reminds us of God's love and Jesus walking this journey of Lent with us!