This past Sunday I attended Adult Forum at The Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham here in Houston, TX. I make it a practice to attend as frequently as these sessions are scheduled. We are fortunate to be located near to St. Thomas University and St. Mary’s Seminary and have been able to attract many renowned and learned individuals to speak at these sessions. This past Sunday one of the Ordinariate’s seminarians, Andrew Yaremko presented “Poetry, Penance and the Pursuit of Holiness”. I have to admit, I was skeptical as I walked into Pope Benedict XVI Hall at Cathedral High School. How on earth does one tie this all together? What has poetry to do with Lent and penance?
As part of the presentation, a handout was provided. I would like to share with you the following taken from this handout as it very eloquently speaks to the season of Lent.
“Lent is a time set aside to reorient ourselves, to clarify our minds, to slow down, recover from distraction; to focus on the values of God’s kingdom and on the value he has set on us and our neighbors. There are a number of distinctive ways in which poetry can help us do that.” -Malcom Guite, The word in the Wilderness The presentation included reading from selections, including:
To Keep a True Lent – Robert Herrick Palm Sunday – Macom Guite I see His Blood Upon the Rose – Joseph M. Plunket
However, O Deus, Ego Amo Te – Gerard Manely Hopkins was by far my favorite and I am still pondering it.
O God, I love thee, I love thee— Not out of hope of Heaven for me Nor fearing not to love and be In the everlasting burning. Thou, thou, my Jesus, after me Didst reach thine arms out dying, For my sake sufferedst nails, and lance, Mocked and marred countenance, Sorrows passing number, Sweat and care and cumber, Yea and death, and this for me, And thou couldst see me sinning: Then I, why should not I love thee, Jesu, so much in love with me? Not for Heaven’s sake; not to be Out of hell by loving thee; Not for any gains I see; But just the way that thou didst me I do love and I will love thee: What must I love thee, Lord, for then?— For being my king and God. Amen. What power there is in these few words! What beauty! What quieting of the soul it brings!
You may be wondering, what has any of this to do with establishing habits of penitence. Nothing.
But what followed, the Q and A session at the end of presentation started me thinking, why do we look at the 40 days of Lent as a stand-alone time, a period with a hard start and a hard stop. Why is it that we treat our individual Lenten rules of prayer, fasting and almsgiving as rules that are only applicable to these 40 days. Rules that we observe for this limited time and them forget about. For some of us, and I include myself here, sometimes treat these rules with the same regard as New Years resolutions, something entered into with the best intentions but soon forgotten.
If you have ever gone to a gym, spoke with a personal trainer, or read self-help books you will be familiar with the concept that it takes roughly 21 days to form a habit. Myth, reality, perhaps a little of both. What strikes me is that Lent presents a clear and unquestionable call to action. Lent reminds us of the need for prayer, fasting and almsgiving in our lives. Yes, particularly within the 40 days of Lent. But the Lenten season, I feel, is the season of life, an ongoing season. The 40 days of Lent make for a good start to the formation of habits. Habits of penitence, of small every day sacrifices and habits of giving. Lent calls us to focus on the value of God’s kingdom and on the value he has set on us and our neighbors, as Malcom Guite states. Is this not what we are called to each and every day? Make Lent a habit.
…. Not for any gains I see; But just the way that thou didst me I do love and I will love thee: