Ash Wednesday
Blessed Lent to you! I’ll never
forget my first Lent in the monastery. Filled with first fervor, I had put
together a rigorous list of practices and sacrifices for the season (which I
was not able to keep up for long). One of the things on the list was that I
would give up desserts and pastry.
Well, one night the sisters who
cooked for us (God bless their souls!) put out a tray of humongous glazed
donuts. I looked at the tray wistfully, while also congratulating myself that I
was being such a warrior for Lent.
One of the young monks got up
and took a donut. I felt morally superior to him because I wasn’t indulging.
(To tell the truth, I was also jealous).
A bit later, he got up to take a
second donut. Now I really started getting judgmental and resentful at his
hedonistic overindulgence.
And again, he got up to take a
third donut. Now I got angry, not only at him, but at the whole monastic
community for being so lax in their observance of this holy season. It put me
into a really bad mood which lasted for the rest of the evening, and I was
grumpy and irritable.
Before I fell asleep that night,
it occurred to me (=the Holy Spirit enlightened me) that all my ascetical
practices were of no use at all if they turned me into a grumpy, judgmental
holier-than-thou person, filled with resentment. And so, I revised my list (and
also snuck down into the kitchen to get one of the leftover donuts!)
The moral of the story is this:
If we are going to offer something for Lent, we must do it with a cheerful and
generous heart, and remember that it is a something that is meant to bring us
closer to Christ. And the closer to Christ we get, the more we become patient,
non-judgmental, loving, compassionate and kind.
Will you draw closer to Christ this
Lent? You can measure the result by the good effects it has on you and your
dealings with other people, even with monks who have a sweet tooth.
God bless you.
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