Lent

Lent is the 40-day period that begins on Ash Wednesday (which is today) and ends on Easter Sunday. It is supposed to serve as a reminder and a parallel to the time Christ spent out in the desert by himself before his crucifixion. Catholics are encouraged to “give up something meaningful to them” during the period as a gesture of respect for what God went through for us mere mortals.

There are a lot of aspects of the Catholic faith that I do not understand or agree with - I do, however, understand the importance of a community of faith. Catholicism has evolved somewhat from the medieval times (although the whole “role of women in the church” issue is a whole ‘nother blog entry). I would not consider myself a good [or even PRACTICING] catholic, really – but even though I’m not one for organized religion, Catholicism is where my spiritual foundation is and will always be. While I neither understand it nor agree with it completely, I also believe nothing in life is perfect and I choose to keep the Catholic faith as a foundation for my spiritual beliefs.

And this is one of the reasons I observe Lent – because it is a tradition which serves as a good reminder to get grounded with what is truly important to me. When you take away the things you think you need and can’t live without, when you strip your life down (even just a tiny bit) to a level lower and look at it, it gives you a clearer sense of what you currently have, what you want and what you can do with what you have.

We all have an amazing capacity to be great, and sometimes getting back to the basics is what we need for some perspective on how we can become more than what we are today. Lent is a good way to remind us to get to these basics and serves as a conduit for reflection on our lives and our purpose. Or so it is in LizLand, anyhow.