Lent reflection

This year Maria has been taking us through her father Wayne’s book of Lentern Reflections Sharing the Good News with the Least, Last and Lost on Wednesday evenings. The reflections have been a helpful way of bringing us together to think about those more vulnerable than ourselves – ‘the last, least and lost’ – in the lead up to Easter. At the end of last week's reflection we found ourselves discussing ‘who was giving up what for Lent’. Among the group various things were mentioned: hot drinks, alcohol, chocolate, coffee and even media. But I have found myself challenged this week by comments from Pope Francis who (in a similar vein to Wayne’s reflections) was talking about What You Should Give Up This Year, http://time.com/3714056/pope-francis-lent-2015-fasting/

In summary, the Pope puts out a challenge to examine our hearts in the practice of giving things up for Lent, saying that fasting should never become superficial, and that if it is not accompanied by doing good to others there is really no point. When our interior lives become full of our own concerns, God’s voice is not heard and there is no compassion for the needs of others. The Pope suggests that if we are going to fast from anything this Lent, rather than sweets and alcohol we are better to fast from indifference towards others. Heck.

I know in my own life my head can very quickly become crowded with my own concerns. And even if I were to take a step back and quickly come to the view that my concerns are not even close to the scale of someone who is facing great suffering or difficulty, that still doesn’t prevent me from spending much of my energy focusing on those things. And, combined with allowing myself to fill my life with busyness, that doesn’t allow much time for the needs of others to enter in. So this year for Lent, every time I think about the chocolate or glass of wine I am not enjoying, I am going to challenge myself to think about the amount of energy I am giving to the concerns of others. And how I might increase that energy and turn it into something that may be of help. Thanks Pope Francis.