Time for Reflections
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There Are Actually Good Things About Lent +Thoughts on St. Catherine
The other day, I baked chocolate chip cookies for my kids, and didn’t eat a one. I then decided to Who eats their kids' leftover milkshakes, anyway? I wondered to myself. forgo my usual afternoon cup of tea. Insert personal pity party right here. Earlier in the week, I had bought them a couple of chocolate milkshakes, and completely forgetting that I gave up chocolate for Lent, I took a sip, upon noticing Anders wasn't going to come close to finishing his, then remembered and had to watch them drink their shakes while I drank water. I threw a tiny pity party in my head again as I threw the leftovers away, but I sat down with a good book, and I felt a flooding of relief and peace coming from nowhere. I’m finally doing some spiritual reading, and the book Catherine of Siena , by Sigrid Undset, mingled with the deep conviction that observing Lent is so important to me, and I love it for my family, is giving me deep joy. Even though the momentary sacrifice feels painfu...
Lent, Light and the Birthing of a Child
Lent. We tend to think of Advent as a time of joyful anticipation and Lent as a dismal period of sack cloth and ashes. How ridiculous. We are preparing to celebrate THE most joyful event in the history of humanity, the death and resurrection of our Saviour. Lent is the most joyful, light filled season for me because I empty myself so that I might die and rise with Christ in triumphant glory. The darkness of my sin, the sin of others or the sin of the world is not a malignant force as much as it is simply the absence of light. The light of just one candle banishes darkness. I have been pregnant during Advent and given birth right on Christmas Eve and I have been pregnant all of Lent and given birth right on Easter Morning. Both pregnancies and births were a time ” to give to the light”, to give new life to Christ. In a sense we are all pregnant during Advent and Lent every year and we all give birth to Christ within us more fully every Christmas and every Easter morning....