Maria Byrne
The first months of any new year often seem to drag a bit. It’s not the most exciting time of year with the country still in the grip of cold weather, the Christmas bills being paid off and summer tantalisingly out of our grasp. I miss that post-December calm now.
My husband and I were in a car crash a few weeks ago and just chilling and stressing about how high the January gas bill was seems like a distant memory. I’m feeling pretty battered and bruised, my husband broke his chest bone and our car is gone to the scrap yard, never to return.
All our usual amusements are a bit like the summer: out of our reach at the moment. No more hopping off to the gym when the noise and bickering of the children becomes a bit too much; no heading to the various talks and seminars that I love so much and not even a trip to the local shopping centre to grab a quick latte. We’ve been forced by circumstances to live a very different life, if only for a few short weeks.
Spending a few days propped up in bed with masses of pillows, coffee, books and my computer has given me a unique opportunity to embrace minimalist living. I know it’s been forced upon me, but there’s a certain sense of freedom in not having to be part of the rat race for a while.
Curtailment
It’s sort of fitting that all this is happening during the season of Lent which also involves paring things back and getting to the heart of our relationship with God. I’m giving up a lot more for Lent than I planned, with no car, poor public transport in our little village and the curtailment of normal social activities. What I have gained is a little bit more silence and serenity, more time to stop and stare and a chance to get away from it all and focus on prayer and sacrifice and what that really means for a Christian.
I think a lot of people wonder why bad things happen to good people but even the most dreadful calamities of life can have a positive aspect. It’s often when we’re left with very little else to cling onto that we finally abandon ourselves to the will of God and to the sure knowledge that he will never tire of giving us his love and care.
St Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei, often talked about this abandonment. In his little book The Way he presented the beauty and joy of the Catholic Faith. On the topic of the will of God, he says that “The wholehearted acceptance of the will of God is the sure way of finding joy and peace: happiness in the cross. It’s then that we realise that Christ’s yoke is sweet and that his burden is not heavy”.
Abandoning oneself to God reminds me of a baby when he or she decides to take those first steps and staggers across the floor into the arms of a waiting parent. There has to be that moment of complete trust where the child knows that all will be well.
During the trials and disappointments of life, we often lose all those comforts and certainties that we had before. It’s a bit like finding oneself in a strange land.
In a homily for the beginning of Lent in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI talked about Lent as a journey across the desert. He described Lent as a time to broaden our horizons, a time to orient ourselves to eternal life.
An incident like a car accident, a diagnosis of serious illness or the death of a loved one reminds us that we are on a pilgrimage here on earth but it’s not our final destination. Quoting from the Letter to Hebrews he said “Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come.”
As a child, I used to feel that Lent was a bit like facing into a wilderness. Maybe the thought of several weeks without sweets or chocolate seemed like a wilderness to my young mind, but the memories of the spiritual renewal we experienced is still one of my strongest.
Huge ordeal
Going to 7.30am mass with my parents on cold, frosty mornings wasn’t easy and certainly felt like a huge ordeal but we realised from a young age the value of doing the little actions well for the love of God.
This Lent has turned out to be more eventful than anticipated. It’s not every day that you’re in a situation where you’re thanking God that you escaped an accident without serious injury or death. As spring approaches, seeing the signs of new life and growth seem all the sweeter and I think of the reminders of my late father who often commented that no one knows the day or the hour.
Pope Benedict said that “Lent shows us the relativity of the goods of this earth, thus rendering us capable of the necessary sacrifices and free to do good”. There’s work to be done and good news to be spread and Easter is in sight.
Time to trust in God and continue on with the eyes of faith even though the path is tough.
We are never lacking once we focus on the presence of God among us.