Lent has begun...

Even though Saint Benedict says a monk's life should be Lenten in character all the time, (see: http://www.osb.org/rb/text/rbemjo3.html#49) I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. Not being much of a meat eater, for example, how can a dinner of wonderfully cooked vegetables and perfectly roasted fish be a penance? Some of the best meals of the year come to the monastic table during this season. We have an abundance of breads, cheeses and fruits as well as delicious black bean soups. How is that "abstaining?" Yet, I only speak for myself. I'm sure some of my brothers who love the meat and potato diet that our German founders brought with them from Metten are truly miserable during these 40 days.
Around the school, I hear the students talking about what they are "giving up" and this is impressive. So far the words "chocolate" "TV" and "being mean to my sister" have been bandied around. Yesterday, at our Ash Wednesday Eucharist, I asked two students and one teacher's wife to talk about their experiences of service in Ohio, Jamaica and Haiti. All three spoke to the reality of giving as a life changing act. The notion of service has become more and more interesting to our students both at Prep and in the college. It is my hope that more of us can delve into that world with more frequency and intensity. Even the briefest of times in service to the truly desperate in our world can go a long way in helping us understand our place in the world and how narrow it can be.
So, to the love/hate feelings I have for Lent...I usually dread it mostly because it represents the dog days of winter. When Ash Wednesday rolls around, we see the sun begin to rise a little earlier each day and stay with us a few more minutes in the evening. We feel the "death threat" wind chills abate and the aching, teasing promise of spring....but you know, deep down inside, that you won't be able to open those windows and breath fresh air for a few more weeks. The drabness of the outdoors is matched by the bare, spare liturgies and the whole experience begins to drag. But in the end, that's OK too. The emergence of spring and Easter wouldn't be as meaningful without the cold of winter and Lent. Perhaps that's why Benedict believed in it so much.