Lent - A Radical Approach to our Busy Lives

Ash Wednesday is always a powerful way to begin the season of Lent.  The liturgy itself invites us into a new way of living out our hectic lives in this “ADD”  (Attention Deficit Disorder) world that craves instant gratification, promotes short attention spans, offers quick solutions, and promotes an often frenetic pace to move on to the next thing.  So much of our lives revolve around organizing, checking and rechecking our daily calendars on our smart phones and other devices.  The omnipresent cell phone has become a fifth appendage.  At the end of the day we often feel lonely, disconnected from others, and an overwhelming sense that we have not done it all.  Yet the church graciously reminds us that during the season of Lent we are now to be people focused on a journey that allows us to maneuver through this crazy “wilderness” of our lives with a different approach.  For forty days and forty nights we are called to navigate our days as a people of repentance, prayer, fasting and self-denial.  We are to take the time for self-reflection and to read and meditate on scripture.  In short, we are invited to a life that is counter-culture, one that seeks consistent and focused attention on harmony, peace, and a deeper reconnection to God and God’s world.

One of my favorite disciplines for Lent is to read the following Litany of Penitence found in the Ash Wednesday service (Book of Common Prayer p. 267-269) throughout the season and to choose one of the petitions to meditate on each day.  Perhaps this might be a good discipline for some of you. 

Litany of Penitence

-Most holy and merciful Father: 
We confess to you and to one another, 
and to the whole communion of saints 
in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned by our own fault  
in thought, word, and deed;
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

-We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and 
strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We 
have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
 Have mercy on us, Lord.

-We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us.
 We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved 
your Holy Spirit.
 Have mercy on us, Lord.

-We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the
 pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,
 We confess to you, Lord.

-Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation 
of other people, We confess to you, Lord.

-Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those
 more fortunate than ourselves,
 We confess to you, Lord.

-Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and
 our dishonesty in daily life and work,
 We confess to you, Lord.

-Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to
 commend the faith that is in us, 
We confess to you, Lord.

-Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done:
for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our 
indifference to injustice and cruelty, Accept our repentance, Lord.

-For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our 
neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those 
who differ from us, 
Accept our repentance, Lord.

-For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of 
concern for those who come after us,
 Accept our repentance, Lord.

-Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us;
 Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.

-Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,
 That we may show forth your glory in the world. 

-By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord,
 Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

Mary Grace+