Lent is an invitation to transformation

Lent has a way of creeping up on us (especially when the winter is as mild as we have seen this year). It is no coincidence that the Lenten season occurs on the cusp between winter and spring, for Lent is about life, death and rebirth. Something in us must die, be let go, if something new is to arise.

If Lent is the season of transformation, how do we prepare for it, go about it? It doesn't just grab us by the collar, does it? Well maybe it does once in a while, but usually it is a more subtle process, and it asks for our willing participation.

This Lent, The Well Spirituality Center offers rich programs for spiritual growth. The season begins with an Ash Wednesday prayer service and an At-Home Directed Retreat. Programs run the gamut from Retreats, Singing Bowls, Transformational Breath and Tai Chi Ch'uan to walking the Lenten Labyrinth, Moving Through the Energy of Grief, and Visio Divina.

The Well Spirituality Center and its programs welcome people of all faiths, all year-round.

Two Lenten programs of note reflect the need for personal transformation so that the world can truly heal:

The Cross and The Lynching Tree, Mondays, March 2, 9, 16 and 23 from 7-8:30 PM, sees Lent as the appropriate time to acknowledge and repent for the sin of racism and its tragic consequences for our African American sisters and brothers. These study and reflective sessions will be based on the book of the same name by James H. Cone, which may be purchased on Amazon. The cost of the program is $60 or $15 per session. The facilitators, Kathy Sherman, CSJ and Franshun Davis-Harris, request that participants read Chapters 1 and 2 prior to the first session.

Teresa on Teresa de Avila, a retreat from Friday, March 6 at 7 PM until Saturday, March 7 at 3 PM, proposes a journey with Teresa de Avila through the eyes and lived experience of her namesake, Teresa Mateus. Mateus is an author, speaker, trauma therapist, professor and the Executive Director and co-founder of The Mystic Soul Project. After studying with Richard Rohr at the Center for Action and Contemplation, Teresa realized that her desire for contemplation surpassed the limitations of the dominant culture. She has since devoted her work to the mystic traditions of indigenous people, persons of color and of women. Her earth-centered approach includes all. The overnight retreat will include exercises to open your heart. Cost: $165 No time for an overnight? Come just for the Saturday morning workshop, from 9:30-11:30 AM. Cost: $35.
Special rate for those under 40: $100
$25 for Saturday morning workshop only

Location: 1515 Ogden, LaGrange Park, IL 60526.
For more info visit: www.csjthewell.org or call (708) 482-5048.
Scholarships available upon request