By Sister Louise Alff OSF
When I was a child, Lent seemed forever.
I was led to believe that Lent was 40
days but when I got older and counted
the days from Ash Wednesday to Easter
Sunday, I discovered it was actually 46
days. Six extra days! May not seem much to you, but as a child
who had given up chocolate, those extra six days made Lent seem
like an eternity. Now that I am older, I have learned a few other
things about Lent that I didn’t realize so many years ago
I realize the significance of the number 40. The rains fell upon Noah’s ark for 40 days, the Israelites sojourned in the Promised Land for 40 years, and Jesus prayed in the desert for 40 days. The number 40 appears to symbolize a period of testing and trial. Since that seemed to describe Lent, I guess using the number 40 sounds better than 46.
But then I learned that Lent really is only 40 days because the six
Sundays of Lent aren’t Lent in the strict sense of the word! Think of the six Sundays of Lent as “Lent light.” Every Sunday, we are “off the hook” from our Lenten resolutions. Every Sunday during Lent, we can become a couch potato and gorge on chocolate. The reason is that every Sunday is a “little Easter.” Easter is the greatest feast on the Christian calendar since we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Because it is the core of our faith, we remember this significant event every Sunday. No season, not even Lent, can overshadow the great feast of Easter.
Another thing I discovered about Lent is that God doesn’t care if I give up food, alcohol or sweets. Lent is not a crash diet. It is about changing my heart. The reason I fast from anything is to simplify my life so that I have room and time to listen to God. If that is not part of the fast, I shouldn’t waste my time. One of the readings we hear during Lent is from the prophet Isaiah: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: loosen the chains of injustice, untie the cords of the yoke, feed the hungry, clothe the naked.” (Isaiah 58:6-7) To know how to internalize this command, I must fast from outside distractions to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice. Entering into prayer during Lent, I ask that my eyes be open to see whom I have kept in chains, who is hungry for recognition, who needs tobe clothed in love. Truth be told, it is easier to give up chocolate than to do what the Lord requires.
The last lesson I learned about Lent is that it is a concentrated period of time within a year-long conversion process. I am to use these 40 days to strengthen my baptismal promises and recalculate my life’s direction. But it doesn’t end there. I am called to conversion each day of the year – to turn my glance once more to Christ, the foundation of my life. I am a Franciscan Sister, and the symbol that I wear daily is the Franciscan TAU (rhythms with“how”). The TAU looks like a capital T and is one of the many forms of a cross. St. Francis embraced the TAU because he saw it as a sign of ongoing conversion. When I put the TAU around my neck every morning, I am committing myself to a daily change of heart like Francis.
I hope that I am a better person when Lent ends than when Istarted on Ash Wednesday. But when Lent 2027 rolls around, Iknow I will again be seeking and asking for guidance.
