The season of Lent is a pilgrimage, from darkness to light, from thirst to living water, from the cross to the Resurrection. Lent this year, beginning on March 5 with Ash Wednesday, takes on a particular focus as we are called to be pilgrims of hope in this jubilee year. In light of this calling, we can look on this penitential season with four themes, each inspired by the letters of the word Lent: love, eternity, newness, time.
Love: At the root of any liturgical season, but in particular Lent, is the foundation of God’s love. John 3:16 reminds us, “For God so loved the world that he sent his only son, that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The 40 days of Lent are a time for us to really dwell on this act of love. If we truly believe that Jesus suffered for us out of love, then that knowledge has to shape our lives, and we must set out on pilgrimage toward him. St. John’s words beg a response of love from us. How will we show our love of God this Lent?
Of course, the three traditional aspects of Lent – fasting, prayer, and almsgiving – can be beautiful expressions of love during these 40 days. But also, a conscious decision to make this Lent a true pilgrimage of love – reading Scripture daily, spending 15 minutes a day contemplating Jesus on the cross, seeking out opportunities for Eucharistic adoration – can make the difference between drifting through Lent and actually experiencing the season in a meaningful way.
Eternity: Lent can’t help but include the contemplation of eternity. The words we often hear on Ash Wednesday – “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” – remind us of the need to focus on eternal life. The whole purpose of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection was to open the gates of heaven for us, to enable us to have the grace to pass through those gates someday. Our pilgrimage on this earth should be focused on eternity. We can get so bogged down in the busy details of life that we don’t think often enough about our eternal end goal. This is one of the precious gifts Lent can offer us – the grace to focus on eternity. This gaze toward heaven should also be balm to the weary pilgrim and is the very source of the hope we are called to bring to the world.
Newness: “And he who sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new,’” writes St. John in Revelation 21:5. The word “Lent” is rooted in a word meaning “lengthening of days,” otherwise known as spring. Lent is a time of renewal. It is a time to accept that only Jesus can make us new, reborn.
Lent is an opportune time to examine the areas of our life that have become stagnant, then pick one or two things that we can intentionally make a goal of renewing. Perhaps we need to renew our commitment to prayer, acts of charity, or detachment from some material thing. As we set out on this pilgrimage of Lent, we can ask Christ to “make all things new” in our lives.
Time: It’s hard to contemplate eternity without also considering the concept of time. Lent is the perfect chance to examine how our use of time is (or is not) getting us closer to eternal life. Time is a gift given to us by God to allow us to choose him. But the thing about time, as we are all too keenly aware, is that it only goes one way – there’s no getting it back once it’s gone.
The idea of a spiritual pilgrimage this Lent can help us focus on the time that we have on this earth. We can reorient ourselves if necessary toward the end goal of eternity with God, which means taking care about how we use our time. Is our use of time balanced? Do we live our lives like any day could be our last? When is the last time we accessed God’s mercy in the sacrament of reconciliation? Do we make time for prayer every day?
Viewing this upcoming season of Lent from the pilgrim vantage points of love, eternity, newness, and time will hopefully help us make the most of these special 40 days God gives us.
Lazzuri writes from her home in Nova Scotia, where she lives with her husband, four of her six children, and her mom. She can be reached at clarelazzuri@gmail.com.
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