Lenten Math

Most people I know approach Lent with a sense of foreboding. Often, thoughts are consumed by what must be given up (usually something related to sweet, yummy food), or what symbolic sacrifice must be made. While giving up something for Lent can be very helpful in our faith walk, I have found that instead of subtracting something from my life for Lent, I am better served in my journey of faith during Lent, by adding something.

For me over the years that has meant praying the Daily Office (well...I must admit only some of the hours). Or lectio divina. Or The Jesus Prayer. Or silence. I've added reading daily scriptures, or used a book like Richard Foster's Devotional Classics. A year or two ago I started using www.sacredspace.ie and it became a daily part of my yearlong faith walk with Christ, and continues to be so to this day. In each case, each addition that I added to my life during Lent prepared me in powerful ways for Holy Week to come, and impacted my faithwalk deeply for the longhaul. And isn't that the point?

Math was always one of my better subjects in school, and even as a kid I found addition to come more naturally than subtraction. When it come to my own faith, and the season of Lent, addition still seems to better suit me.

Maybe it will you too.