Bairbre Cahill
The car is going in for a service on Thursday. It is just as well. It has been sounding a bit rough lately and could do with a tune up and an oil change. I’m much the same myself actually. I need a bit of a tune up too. Perhaps that is why I am looking forward to Lent. That may sound strange, but I find Lent a great opportunity to rebalance – or at least to try.
My desire for this Lent – and indeed why wait for Lent, why not start now – is to live mindfully. Mindfulness is an ever more popular practice which helps people to live in the moment, to be aware of their experience and their consciousness in the here and now.
That idea of living in the present moment appeals to me and I see mindfulness as offering that but something more too. It is not just that I want to be aware of what I am doing, I want to be aware of the ways that my life and experience here and now offer me an encounter with God.
As a Christian I believe that God is ever present in our lives through the action of the Holy Spirit. I believe that, because of the Incarnation, our daily human experiences open us up to the presence and action of God – but we will only be aware of the richness of our lives if we are mindful, tuned in, discerning.
Bro. Lawrence, a Carmelite lay brother from the 17th Century who spent his life working in the kitchen, suggested that we should do every task with an awareness of God’s loving presence.
This is challenging and I find that I need anchors to keep me steady. A crucial one is that I need to make time for prayer. That could be sitting with scripture and letting a theme, word or image speak to me. Sometimes it is doing a bit of reading. I recently bought Daniel J. O’Leary’s book, Treasured and Transformed. It is beautiful and nurtures within me that conviction that God is to be found wonderfully present amongst the bits and pieces of our ordinary lives. I read the Far East, the magazine of the Columban Missionaries and find the Gospel jumping off the pages. Indeed, I often find that sitting with a cup of coffee reading The Irish Catholic gives a balance and perspective to my day provided I stop and think about what I’m reading.
Experience
Whatever we read, there are three points we can usefully ponder: what attracts me in this, what challenges me and how does this connect with my own life experience? Reflection opens the door to the Spirit and to prayer.
But I am a bit like one of those cartoon characters you see with a wee angel sitting on one shoulder and a wee devil on the other one. The angel urges me to take the time, sit down for a while to pray, read, reflect. The wee devil tells me I have far too much to be doing, I should move myself, get on with the day, catch up on all that later.
This Lent I want to cultivate the discipline I need to take time, to be mindful in the presence of God so that I will be mindful too of God’s presence in all I do and in all I encounter through the rest of the day. I have a feeling this is going to be a tougher challenge for me than giving up my cup of coffee!
What is your desire for this Lent – for yourself and as a family? What do you need to help you grow in faith and relationship with God? You have some time now before Lent begins on February 10 to explore what you would like to do to get the best from this beautiful season.