Sharing Lent

What is Lent all about? What are others doing to prepare themselves in body, soul and spirit for the celebration of the Triduum and Easter? We asked some of our partners and young adults to share with the Catholics on Call Community why Lent is important for them. If you would like to contribute to "Sharing Lent", send your reflection to: catholicsoncall@ctu.edu.

The gift of reconciliation
As much as I try to fast and attempt to give something up for Lent, the most important thing for me during Lent is the beautiful and often underutilized sacrament of Reconciliation. I try to eat only one meal on Fridays during Lent, but the fact is I slip up once in a while. I tell myself I will give up something only too two or three weeks later catch myself doing or eating it. The immense feelings of guilt, disappointment, and failure I feel when I realize my mistakes nag at me constantly…that is until Wednesday afternoon between 4 and 5pm when I find myself in a little room in the southwest corner of Old St. Joe’s Church face to face Fr. Jim Baraniak. As much as I would like to keep my failures between God and myself, there is nothing more humbling and liberating than admitting my weaknesses to Fr. Jim. When he utters the words of absolution, the immensity of the guilt, disappointment, and failure I went into the confessional with, is lifted from my heart and my mind is once again clear…it is one of the best feelings we as human beings and Catholics can experience. As I leave the confessional I have a renewed sense of purpose and mission. At least for that one moment my slate is wiped clean and I get the chance to start over. I know I will eventually slip up again, I am reminded that it isn’t the end of the world, and most importantly I know in spite of my failure, God is there waiting and ready to forgive. I hope you all can find the time to take advantage of the sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent and throughout the year. The only thing you have to fear is God’s unconditional love and forgiveness.

Josh Jones (CoC 2008 alum)

Jesus' Com-Passion
This Lenten reflection …as well as my Lenten journey…took a radically different turn this week. I have been in New Orleans teaching a course on discernment skills to junior and senior students at our community-sponsored high school. Two students poignantly reminded me of the presence of the Paschal Mystery in their young lives and by extension, my own.
One junior student spoke of her experience of evacuating to Texas with her extended family during Hurricane Katrina. Because the adults in the family were so traumatized by the storm, they were incapable of caring for the younger children for the first few days of the evacuation. This 7th grader spent her days taking care of her young cousins. She spoke of desperately trying to reassure them each night before they went to bed. She was feeling totally alone and so much in need of comfort, support and reassurance herself. God was the only One she could turn to for comfort and guidance as she cared for those younger than herself.
On the walls in the senior Theology classroom, each student had a simple timeline of significant life events. Hurricane Katrina was obviously on all of them. One poster caught my eye. This 17 year old had buried a total of six friends during the past year. Her teacher said she often prays for hope.
These are examples of two students in one school, in one city who have been and continue to live the passion of Jesus. The circumstances differ but the reality of Jesus’ passion continues in the lives of so many people today. Is Jesus inviting me to be His com-passion to anyone today?

Sr. Susan Kienzler, OSU (partner and mentor) 

With Jesus in the desert
Lent always reminds me of Jesus in the desert. He removed Himself from the world to give Himself to prayer. He faced temptations, but in the end it drew Him closer to His Father and prepared Him for His work. So, during Lent I also try to remove something (e.g. soda or candy) and give myself more fully to something (e.g. longer prayer time and writing a snail mail letter to a friend once a week). In removing and adding from and to my life it is a constant reminder to re-focus on what is important in life. All in all, the hope is to grow deeper in faith and to be more fully aware of God's Love in order to live in such a way that brings God glory and spreads His Love.

Tricia Lothschutz (CoC alumna and partner)
 

Listen to God in the silence
I have arrived at the Lenten season for the first time since beginning seriously to discern my vocation. In prayer over the last few weeks I have noticed just how much noise there is in the rest of my life, which has been hiding God's voice. No wonder I haven't heard Him clearly yet. So, for me, as I look forward to Easter, I am doing so with my TV switched off for the next 40 days. This is one thing I can do to start to rid myself of the distractions of the world and start to listen more to what is hidden in the silence. I have created more time in my day for prayer and reflection that I feel will add depth to my Easter experience.

Andrew, MI (in an email to CoC)

Like a new school year
As a Catholic, Lent is like a new school year to me; it is time to take stock of my life: where did I go in this last year? Where am I at now? I prefer to spend Lent not “giving up” something, but adding something to my life. I have two ideas for this season of Lent. The Gospel reading from the Sunday before Ash Wednesday contained the line “Child, your sins are forgiven.” The Pastor encouraged the congregation to truly live this phrase throughout Lent. What would our lives look like if we truly believed that we were forgiven? I want to prayerfully reflect on this idea throughout Lent.

The second thing I’m going to add to my Lenten journey is setting aside a time to pray Lectio Divina at least once or twice a week. I’ve been struggling with how to add an enriching prayer experience to my life recently and Lent is the perfect time to add a different type of prayer.

Liz Weigel (Bernardin Scholar and CoC Intern, CTU)

An extended retreat
Lent is my favorite time of year. It is like an extended retreat that the whole church participates in! My own observance of Lent has evolved over the years. I remember when I was a kid I gave up chocolate. It was tough but I worked hard to sacrifice. I remember one time I forgot and ate chocolate cereal! After that I didn’t have any other slip ups and Easter Sunday I ate so much candy! In college I remember my friends asking me in the cafeteria why I didn’t eat meat on Fridays. It was the first time anyone asked me that. I had to think about it but I told them that it was a reminder to me that this was a special time.
One practice my family always observed during Lent was the Way of the Cross. Every Friday my mom would force me to go and be an altar server for the Stations. It was a bummer to give up my Friday nights, but over time I grew to appreciate what it meant. The story of Christ’s Passion became familiar and profound to me. Today the Passion story is very important to my faith. I am a big fan of Jesus Christ Superstar. I like to meditate on the lyrics and characters. To quote one of the songs from it: “To conquer death you only have to die.”
The best thing to do for Lent is to have a realistic attitude about how to improve yourself and your relationship with God. If it means praying more or starting a devotion- stick with it! If it means giving money to the needy or volunteering, that’s great! Whatever motivates you and gets you out of your comfort zone. No meat on Friday and fasting is a suggestion, but it’s up to us to make it mean something. Remember: don’t just give something up- take something on!

Megan Mio (CoC alumna and partner)

“See, I am doing something new!”
As I listened to these words of God to the Israelite people during Mass the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, I thought to myself that “doing something new” or perhaps “anew” is what Lent should be about. Each of us struggles with things that keep us from being our best selves. Perhaps it’s not finding time for prayer or the quiet I need, impatience with a co-worker or not believing in my own goodness, to name a few. Lent offers me the perfect time to change whatever it is in my personal life that keeps me from deepening my relationship with God and growing in my commitment to live a Christian life. There is excitement in becoming something new, in cleaning out the clutter, dusting off the cobwebs and creating space for that which is fresh. There’s also hard work and challenge involved----I need to cooperate and work together with God to get the most out of my opportunity for “newness”. During our Lenten journey, may we be given the grace we need for renewal and recommitment and like the Israelite people, may we hear the hope-filled words of our loving God:
“Remember not the things of the past, the things of long ago…..see, I am doing something new!”

Sr. Barb Kwiatkowski, OSF (Partner and Mentor)

Spring Training
For me as a baseball fan and a Catholic, Lent equals "spring training." Like the baseball players practicing this time of year for the start of the season, Lent is a time where we can practice spiritual disciplines, acts of service and justice, and developing a lifestyle of prayer and reflection - so that we can apply those practices to the "regular season" of our everyday lives. So in Lent, I like to prepare myself for disciplines and habits that I need to bring into life beyond Easter Sunday. If a baseball player wants to be the MVP, he needs to practice hard during spring traning; likewise, if I want to be a follower of Christ, I need to practice hard in Lent to prepare myself for that gospel-infused lifestyle.

As a church worker, I sometimes forget or take for granted the rich spiritual traditions of my Catholic faith during the "ordinary time" of the year. Lent is a time for me to intentionally remember the things that are most important about my faith life, so that I can remember those things all year round. One example revolves around my incredible love of seafood. So on Fridays in Lent, not only do I give up meat, but also fish. This reminds me of the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, where Jesus wanders about the fishing towns and villages proclaiming the Good News. He fishes with the disciples, preaches in their synagogues, and heals the sick and dying among them. Giving up fish reminds me each week of those gospel stories in the fishing communities around the Sea of Galilee, and urges me to read them over again to rediscover the words of Christ. Once Easter comes, and every time I have salmon, swordfish, perch, shrimp, clam chowder, or a fish sandwich for the rest of the year, I remember the sacrifice of Lent and the gospels of the fishermen.

Lent is my "spring training" and every Easter, I pray that the "regular season" will be a winning one.

Paul Jarzembowski (Director Young Adulst Ministry Diocese of Joliet, Presenter and Partner)

Offering it Up
We tend to focus these days on doing positive things during Lent, but I still give something up - usually desserts! I find that it is a daily reminder of the necessity to let go of our "wants" in order to clear a path for God. And I try to attend Stations of the Cross regularly. I find the many different ways of praying the Stations to be inspirational, especially those that focus on contemporary problems or specific areas of the world. We gather their suffering into the Paschal Mystery at the heart of all our lives - and believe in the new life which will come.

Pam Coster (Advisory Board Member)

Our daily bread
Lent is our time to be stripped of the excess in our lives so that we can begin a more honest relationship with God. One reminder that I often struggle with, and try to focus on during lent is that God gives us our “daily bread,” not our weekly, monthly, or yearly bread. We don’t get to skip forward to Holy Thursday where we all come together and understand how to serve as Jesus did, or Easter, where we can fully appreciate the resurrection without the sacrifice. He is with us one day at a time, and it takes us one day at a time to become closer to Him and therefore become the people we desire to be.

To enter into honest dialogue with God each day, we must talk to Him each day! As part of our Catholic tradition, we are provided with daily readings (www.usccb.org/nab) I find that taking 10 minutes each morning to read and reflect on what Christ is saying to us on this very day helps center me in the day. If you had to give the homily for these passages, how would you sum up His message in a sentence? Write that sentence down, or simply reflect on it throughout the day. Let God’s words be the center of your day, and the stresses and excesses that we often bury ourselves in seem to disappear.

Megan Sherrier (CoC alumna)

Turning a new leaf
Growing up in the Philippines, Lent was for me a time of sacrifices, a quieter life, and reflecting on my sins. Throughout my religious formation, I have developed a sense of incorporating my childhood practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving into the Franciscan notion of “penance,” which means a life of continual conversion. I like the term “turning a new leaf” because “turning away from sin” to “embrace the Gospel” means I am being constantly renewed. One ritual I love to do is to have a big cookie (the size of a pizza tray) with the word “Alleluia” on it. After the evening prayer at Mardi Gras we then eat the cookie to symbolically “bury” the Alleluia!
My favorite symbol for our prayer space and Lenten ritual is to have a desert scene with a bare branch in the center. As Easter draws near, we begin weaving a flower here and there into the twigs and adding more green into the scene. By the time Easter arrives, our desert has exploded with the colors of spring, and the sand have been replaced by trickling water fountain.

Sr. Lovina Pammit (Catholics on Call Partner)

Something different
On Fridays, I fast after a light breakfast until dinner. It focuses me on the plight of the poor and the “plight” of my soul. Just something a little different.

Fr. Corey Brost, CSV (Mentor)

Positive Lenten Practices
When I was little my mother always encouraged me and my brother to give something up for Lent as well as Advent. Following in her footsteps I always gave up sweets like she did. It was so hard as a kid to give up the cookies, cakes and chocolates that go along with school holiday parties or friends' birthday parties (it seemed like all of my friends' birthdays were in March!). But every time I was tempted, I would say a prayer for strength to keep my fast. It was a very rich spiritual experience for me growing up because I have quite a sweet tooth and temptation came often. I felt so holy when I would refuse a treat, and tried not to draw attention to myself for fear of being like the scribes and pharisees in the Gospel stories.
When discussing this with my mom one day during Lent in high school, she revealed that she just likes loosing weight before the holidays and that she schedules her doctor appointments for right before Easter while she is eating healthy. This information crushed everything I thought I knew about fasting.
Since then, I have tried to give up sweets but I haven't been able to follow through with it. I wonder if I am fasting for the right reason.
Instead I have tried more positive Lenten practices. Maybe I will say a decade of the Rosary every day, or the Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, or just set aside 10 minutes of quiet time to be with God. I have found these practices much more fruitful spiritual experiences. This year I plan on praying the prayer of St. Peregrine every day because it seems that so many people I know have been affected by cancer this year.
Also, now that I am in my first apartment and doing my own grocery shopping I am giving up plastic bags because they make a mountain of waste in my kitchen, not to mention the earth. Lent is a great opportunity to give up a wasteful or unhealthy habit, but also to give up some of our busy time and pray.

Darcy Hidek (CoC alumna)

Going out into the desert
For me, Lent is a time of preparation, introspection, and purification. In forming these guiding principles and deciding how to carry them out, I find it helpful to meditate on Jesus going out into the desert before he began his public ministry.
First, knowing what his service to the Father would ultimately require of him, Jesus is wise in taking some time for preparation. We also need to prepare ourselves for the reality of Christ's passion but also for the smaller "Calvaries" we will no doubt experience in our own lives.
Secondly, Jesus spent forty days in the desert, which would surely give him time for prayerful introspection, time to cultivate his message, think about the challenges, and even confront some of his human thoughts and questions about what he would experience.
We also need time for quiet introspection. Our lives get so busy and full that we often forget to assess the areas that require growth. Lent provides the opportunity to take a long and discerning look at how we are spending our time and how we might need to change some things. Finally, Jesus denied himself food and resisted the temptations of Satan as a way of disciplining his mind and body. Though Jesus was without sin and therefore needed no moral purification, we are all sinners and often in dire need of healing. This is why I find traditional Lenten practices such as fasting and Reconciliation quite helpful. By denying myself some bodily comforts and also seeking forgiveness of past sins, I am able to approach the Triduum with a heart unburdened that is ready to be there at the foot of the cross while Jesus suffers and then to receive the grace and share in the joy of Easter.

Dan Allen (CoC alumnus) 

Springtime for  the Spirit
The Church offers so many times to "begin anew" ~ Lent for me is Revival & Renewal ~ Springtime for the Spirit :)

We have all been through enough Lents to realize that complete transformation is not going to occur ~ but that is not a reason for pessimism ~ it remains an opportunity for some repair work in a specific area of our life, namely our spiritual life, where we may have neglected and could use some remodeling, rebuilding, reconstruction...

Every Lent for me is a time to reassess my time management ~ and make time for the Word of God ~ I fix a half hour time slot into what is my normal routine ~ that time begins with reading the Scripture. I may not read very far when I need to just "sit with it" and reflect. That has been part of my Lent for some years now, I never saw this time as one of "giving up" ~ though I do abstain from certain foods, but more a time to do something extra and besides more time with the Word, I look to spend more time with some of the Lord's favorite people ~ who I know does not play favorites but has a special place in his heart for the poor!

And then, it is not a time of just temporary improvements until Easter and then everything back as usual... Let us make choices that have lasting change in our life!

Fr. Dave Bohnsack, MCCJ (Partner and Mentor)

Fasting
Some years ago I went with a group of other young adults to an international youth meeting in Italy. The event happened to be during the war in Yugoslavia and a group of young people from this country attended the meeting. One day they had the opportunity to share about their life during the war and how the were in need of so many things. It was spontaneous to open our wallets and give what we could to help them at least a little bit. After the retreat we stayed another week in Rome for some vacation, but we couldn’t forget what we had heard from our friends in Yugoslavia. We thought that we could do more and share with them our abundance. We decided to have a cash box and every time we would spend money on ice-cream or other not really necessary things during our vacation, we would put the same amount in the cash box. It was a creative way of sharing our surplus with others.
In his Lenten Message 2009 Pope Benedict highlights the meaning of fasting as “an aid to open our eyes to the situation in which so many of our brothers and sisters live.” And he quotes Saint Peter Chrysologus: “Fasting is the soul of prayer; mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself.” (Sermo 43: PL 52, 320. 322)

Birgit Oberhofer (Associate Director)