Conception Abbey

Lent this year begins on February 17th. While that is still a few weeks off, it is good to begin thinking about what practices would be good for us to take on this Lent, 2010.

To quote from the Rule of St. Benedict, chapter 49:

"The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent. Since few, however, have the strength for this, we urge the entire community during these days of Lent to keep its manner of life most pure and to wash away in this holy season the negligences of other times. This we can do in a fitting manner by refusing to indulge evil habits, and by devoting ourselves to prayer with tears, to reading, to compunction of heart and self-denial."

While probably not many of us are able to live according to the ideal St. Benedict presents for Lent on a daily basis, the implication of St. Benedict is that what happens in Lent also applies in principle throughout the year. The reward of any Lenten observance of course has nothing to do with outward display but with the reward of the kingdom. So it’s a matter of motive. If I let it be known, or even brag about how much I fast, or give to charity, it becomes something public and even competitive. What really makes a good Lent is interior transformation. We are to "rend our hearts and not our garments," as St. Paul reminds us.

Lent always points toward Easter and so there is a note of joy in the Lenten season. During the Lenten season we look forward with joy and spiritual longing to Easter.

So as we all look forward to the Lenten season we need to reflect what extra works would be good for me to take on this Lent. What would help me to transform my life, to turn more to Jesus Christ, to know his love? St. Benedict urges us to devote ourselves to prayer with tears, to reading, to compunction of heart and self-denial. Father Michael Casey says that compunction is a dual sensitivity. It places before us both the reality of our sinful condition and the urgency of our desire to be totally possessed by God. It is precisely the comparison between what we are and what we could be that constitutes the triggering cause of compunction.

So let us use these coming weeks to prepare ourselves for the Lenten season. This week, probably about Tuesday, January 26, I will be mailing you a letter and a card for renewing your oblation. Sometime during the year you are asked to return signed card to the oblate office. If you would like to have a blessing on your Lenten works, you are welcome to send them to me. However, if you wish them to be returned, please include a stamped self-addressed envelope for this purpose.

Thank you and God bless you.

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