“Why is it called ‘LENT’, Father?” asked a little boy after Mass.
“I…uh…ah….,” I started scratching my head hoping for some answers to pop out instead of dandruff.
Alden waited for me to stop scratching.
“This might sound strange,” I said. “But it really means spring, because it’s the season where the preparation time for Easter more or less falls.”
“Thanks, Father!” He smiled revealing his toothless gums and disappeared into the quadrangle with his friends.
* * *
In Old English spring is called lencten or lengthen and in German, lenz. This seasonal reference to a period marked with profound prayer and penance in view of Easter may seem a mere coincidence. But this is not so.
Although Lent is flavored by the dry, dull and uninviting theme of penance and sacrifice, it is actually the soul’s springtime. Like the seed that remained dormant during winter, the soul that has been purified bursts forth from the earth to mature and ultimately yields abundant fruit.
There is a moment in spring that a seed is first moistened, stripped of its hard shell layer, and allows the fragile green shoot to burst out and embrace the first rays of light. The soul during Lent requires this purification as well, if it will break out into a new conversion to meet and receive the Risen Lord.
Thus, the season of Lent isn’t really drab and melancholic. If the soul yearns for a ‘new spring’ then it willingly undergoes this process of conversion. “Lent is a time of renewal for the whole Church,” Pope Francis says, “for each community and every believer. Above all it is a time of grace (2 Cor 6:2). (Lenten Message 2015)”
As spring is a time for birth and surprises, Lent also opens for us new lights and ingredients for our soul because “God does not ask of us anything that He himself has not first given us. We love because He first has loved us. (1 Jn 4:19) He is not aloof from us. Each one of us has a place in His heart. He knows us by name, He cares for us and He seeks us out whenever we turn away from Him. He is interested in each of us; His love does not allow Him to be indifferent to what happens to us. (Ibid.)”
How can we not, considering these moving words of Pope Francis, open ourselves to experiencing a springtime in our souls during Lent? And if we decide to open our souls to God’s surprising love, we must, like a seed, be ready to fall to the ground, die and bear fruit.
Falling is not a very inviting event, as it is with tripping on a rock, breaking a bone, getting sick and ultimately dying. Yet, spring always begins with this first stage. One must with humility (from humus or topsoil) fall into the hands of God’s loving and nurturing hands and allow Him to work on the soul.
I compare this to a father asking his son to close his eyes and jump into his arms. At first, the boy is reluctant. Then he trusts a little. He then closes his eyes and jumps. His feeling begins with fear, then excitement and a game spontaneously begins between father and son.
Fear is natural to man. As with the fear of dying, getting sick, losing friends and possessions, etc. But in reality, God wants us to ‘close our eyes’ and look into our hearts to His unfailing love and protection for us. Then we jump!
Dying comes after falling! The few seconds in the air gives one the experience of vulnerability or nothingness before God. We have nothing to cling to, our hearts skip a beat and we delightfully land into God’s strong embracing arms. This sends an exhilarating sensation of surprise and joy. We open our eyes and find our Father God smiling at us.
It is in this filial embrace close to our Father’s heart that with childlike confidence we pray with Pope Francis, “Fac cor nostrum secundum cor tuum: Make our hearts like yours. (Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). In this way, we will receive a heart which is firm and merciful, attentive and generous, a heart which is not closed, indifferent or prey to the globalization of indifference. (Ibid.)”
All this bears fruit to a game which infects everything and everyone we do. As children, we no longer want to separate ourselves from God, who not only assures us that everything will go well, and likewise counts on us to share this springtime of our souls with others.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
