During the season of Lent, Joan Chittister will provide a daily reflection to online readers, a kind of
Monastery Almanac for Lent.
Monday, March 9 — People fear a sense of emptiness. We want to be busy about important things. But
emptiness is not necessarily sinister. Lent begs us to empty our lives of the trivial and the superficial so
that we can come to the things that last—family, prayer, rich ideas, concern for the globe, the mind of
Christ for the human condition.
Tuesday, March 10 — “In a dark time,” Theodore Roethke wrote, “the eye begins to see.” The dark
times in life are not our enemy. Dark times empty the world of the things that would otherwise distract
us from seeing the important things. Lent feels dark. Enter the darkness with confidence.
Wednesday, March 11 — Today is Johnny Appleseed Day. The legend says that Johnny Appleseed
planted trees everywhere he went. He went into a place that was empty and left if full of life. What
seed will you plant today that will last beyond your life?
Thursday, March 12 — The Zen teaches that we should sit in meditation as if a samurai were standing in
front of us with sword upheld, ready to kill us with a single stroke. In this way, we constantly face
death. And the time comes when, liberated from the fear of death, we are filled with enlightenment
and joy. The point is clear: When we empty ourselves of our fears—fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of
criticism—we become free to do what needs to be done in life. The purpose of a monastic Lent is the
same thing. Is your lent freeing you from the fears that are holding you back from living life to its
fullest? Fear is what we should be giving up for Lent.
Friday, March 13 — A feeling of emptiness in life is a sign that something is missing in the soul. Lent
gives us the opportunity to ask ourselves what we lack in life that would make us really happy.
Saturday, March 14 — Did you know that pretzels are Lenten bread that go back to the Roman Empire?
They were the food of the poor, shaped like crossed arms, the prayer posture of the time. In Rome
they were called bracellae, in Germany “pretzels” where, as also in Austria and Poland, they were
served only during Lent. In some cities they were distributed free to the poor. Pretzels are a sign of
the emptied heart opened to the will of God. Today, cross your arms while you pray for a heart
emptied for the will of God.
March 15 — Third Sunday of Lent
Jesus’ “zeal for God’s house,” of which the gospel reminds us today, is a quality that is nurtured
through silence. In silence we find more to life than life has to offer. Once we achieve that level of
spiritual centeredness there is nothing in life that can keep us from transcending it.
Monastery Almanac for Lent.
Monday, March 9 — People fear a sense of emptiness. We want to be busy about important things. But
emptiness is not necessarily sinister. Lent begs us to empty our lives of the trivial and the superficial so
that we can come to the things that last—family, prayer, rich ideas, concern for the globe, the mind of
Christ for the human condition.
Tuesday, March 10 — “In a dark time,” Theodore Roethke wrote, “the eye begins to see.” The dark
times in life are not our enemy. Dark times empty the world of the things that would otherwise distract
us from seeing the important things. Lent feels dark. Enter the darkness with confidence.
Wednesday, March 11 — Today is Johnny Appleseed Day. The legend says that Johnny Appleseed
planted trees everywhere he went. He went into a place that was empty and left if full of life. What
seed will you plant today that will last beyond your life?
Thursday, March 12 — The Zen teaches that we should sit in meditation as if a samurai were standing in
front of us with sword upheld, ready to kill us with a single stroke. In this way, we constantly face
death. And the time comes when, liberated from the fear of death, we are filled with enlightenment
and joy. The point is clear: When we empty ourselves of our fears—fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of
criticism—we become free to do what needs to be done in life. The purpose of a monastic Lent is the
same thing. Is your lent freeing you from the fears that are holding you back from living life to its
fullest? Fear is what we should be giving up for Lent.
Friday, March 13 — A feeling of emptiness in life is a sign that something is missing in the soul. Lent
gives us the opportunity to ask ourselves what we lack in life that would make us really happy.
Saturday, March 14 — Did you know that pretzels are Lenten bread that go back to the Roman Empire?
They were the food of the poor, shaped like crossed arms, the prayer posture of the time. In Rome
they were called bracellae, in Germany “pretzels” where, as also in Austria and Poland, they were
served only during Lent. In some cities they were distributed free to the poor. Pretzels are a sign of
the emptied heart opened to the will of God. Today, cross your arms while you pray for a heart
emptied for the will of God.
March 15 — Third Sunday of Lent
Jesus’ “zeal for God’s house,” of which the gospel reminds us today, is a quality that is nurtured
through silence. In silence we find more to life than life has to offer. Once we achieve that level of
spiritual centeredness there is nothing in life that can keep us from transcending it.
ENTER DARKNESS WITH CONFIDENCE
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