"I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer. Amen."

The Book of Common Prayer.

      We hear these same words year after year, and perhaps they begin to sort of wash over us, losing their meaning. But have you ever stopped to wonder what a ridiculous idea this is? Being "invited" to repent and fast? You get invited to enjoyable events; you have to do unpleasant ones. As my late husband used to say humorously, when someone asked him if he would do something he didn't really want to do, "Why would I want to do that?"

        Indeed. Why would we want to examine our consciences, admit our failings, give up things we enjoy, and take extra time out of our days to read what can be some hard going in the Bible? And then the invitation goes even further into the ridiculous by asking us to reflect on our mortal nature. Right! I REALLY want to be reminded that I'm going to die!

        And yet, people have been doing this for over two millennia now, starting with the Ash Wednesday imposition of ashes, and the words "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." These solemn words, which are as profound to say as they are to hear, are a reminder of how temporary are all of our lives. This reminder can put things back into perspective. They tell us that "when all is said and done, when we are looking back at the end of our lives,

 this _____ is what really mattered."

        Different people fill in that blank with different things. Some of us will say it is the love for our families or closest friends; some will say it is how our children ended up doing; others of us will say that it is how well we lived out our life's mission.  There is nothing like a reminder that all of this is temporary to get us back to what is really important.

        The other thing that observing a holy Lent can do for us is to remind us that it is our attachments that cause our suffering. I know this sounds very Buddhist, but I'm pretty sure that Jesus said very similar things, reminding us not to get too attached to our stuff. Those times he said it just didn't get recorded in the Bible!

        It's the habits we get into mindlessly, that we don't give a thought to, like stopping for that expensive extra coffee drink every day, or gossiping about that person in the office, or nagging our grandchildren, or just being negative that we become attached to doing, and they eat away at the spiritual parts of ourselves that know these habits aren't good for our souls.

        And so, Lent is a wonderful time to take stock, to do some spiritual spring cleaning, and to try on a new habit for a reasonable length of time. And that repentance thing? It's not about beating yourself up, and groveling before a God who will only accept you on certain terms. It's about wanting to get rid of everything that gets in the way of experiencing God's forgiving and healing love.

-         Madre Liz

 Spring Ahead for Daylight Saving Time on Saturday evening March 8^th.   Services on Sunday, 3/9  at  8 & 10 am