There seems (at least to me) to be this sort of gathering storm – you can see the clouds roiling in the distance, sense the change in the air, the stiffening of the breeze – and as the storm approaches, it becomes harder to ignore.  It grows louder.  It is inevitable.  This Lent, (and if I am honest, even in the weeks leading up to it) that gathering storm has been the theme of Mercy.  Mercy.  Over and over again.  Mercy.  In our retreats, our reflections, in books we pick up, passages of Scripture that catch our attention, programs we are a part of, talks we listen to.  Mercy. If…

Now is a good time to review how your Lent is progressing.  We are rapidly approaching the midway point of this time of preparation for Easter.  I am happy to report – so far so good on my end!  There have been a few times when one or two little items have been neglected or forgotten, but for the most part, having had the foresight to fine-tune my Lent Plan on day two, I’ve been managing it pretty well.  Even better, this year feels more like life changes rather than 40 days.  I can feel some of these prayerful additions to my day becoming habit rather than simply an item…

Week number 2 felt like one of extremes. On one side was the flailing attempt to wrestle my Lent practices into submission – the distractions were really creating obstacles that were frustrating me to no end. I am still not entirely sure I have it back under wraps! But that’s another story for another day. The other extreme – a surprise as well – was the sense of the Spirit hard at work over the last 36 hours. Between the unexpected fruitfulness of the Faith Formation Symposium and the incredible sense of connection and peace at my evening talk (at the retreat center) – I found myself this afternoon in…

Day 3 – How’s your Lent going?  I think it might be a good idea for me to post weekly throughout Lent (at a minimum) in order to hold myself accountable.  We know that I love Lent and I do revel in the sensation of gathering mastery over various aspects of my life that perhaps have become a bit out of control or neglected when they shouldn’t be — and I did have my plan all laid out and ready to go the night before the season began, but I’ve found that I’m in need of a fine-tuning already.  Now wait a second, don’t get carried away, I am fine-tuning…

If you aren’t … uh-oh!  It’s Ash Wednesday! Your time to prepare is up!  Today while doing Morning Prayer, the scripture reading came from Zechariah 7 and I found it to be a succinct and efficient summary of what our Lenten attitude should be.  Let me share with you a few thoughts for your own personal meditation.  This reading began with a question being  put to the people, asking whether the fasts of the past had really been practiced for God.  That caught my attention right away and I think it is a good question we need to ask ourselves today.  Are we just going through the motions?  Why are…