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Charles Dickens wrote a story about the Ghost of Christmas Past. This is a brief reflection about the Ghost of Lenten Seasons Past.

You see, observing Lent is a relatively recent experience in my life. I’ve been in the Church just 11 years, so I have only been obliged by the rules for fasting, abstinence and other forms of Lenten penance during that time. Prior to that, I was a Presbyterian and was taught that Presbyterians don’t “give up� anything (we never used the term penance) for Lent because of the danger of becoming proud of doing something to “earn� our salvation. Never mind that the refusal to humble oneself before God could be considered the ultimate form of pride. I accepted, even welcomed, the explanation and never paid much attention to what Catholics were doing in the spring of each year. I didn’t much want to deprive myself of anything I might enjoy and couldn’t see any value in fasting from anything; it was just the rationale I needed to keep things as they were.

And yet, I always had a suspicion that the Presbyterian approach to penance was too pat, too easy. I sensed deep down that I was being denied something that was central to being a Christian. Still, in all the years I was a Protestant, I never seriously questioned the matter; I was in blissful ignorance.

Then I came into the Church and things changed. I was suddenly obliged, at least on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday to deny myself something. I wasn’t sure I could, or if I really wanted too. I still wasn’t completely convinced of any value to, or necessity of, a season dedicated to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. So, I have to admit, that during the first two or three Lents that I was in the Church, I focused mainly on those two days and didn’t think a lot about the rest of the season or what it really meant. However, as time went on, I began to think I should give it a try, see if I could get into it, and I began by focusing on just one or two things that I wanted to change; I think in that first year I gave up watching TV for the entire period.

As this Lent began, I realized that for the last two or three years, I have actually looked forward to Ash Wednesday. I began to wonder what this change meant, just what made the difference? I can’t say I have made great strides in spiritual growth over these past few years, so that’s not it. I believe the answer is that I have learned the truth in the saying of John the Baptist, “He must increase, and I must decrease.� I must decrease. But more than that, I have learned how hard that is to live out and how far I have to go to make it a reality in my life. I struggle just to give up a meal, or to watch less TV; what does it take for me to give up my pride, my self-reliance, my quick judgments? A great deal it seems.

The season of Lent provides me with an annual reminder of just who and what I am, and Who and What I need, and of the great chasm between the two. It gives me a chance to add just a stone or two to the bridge that must be constructed to span that chasm. Far from making me proud of what I have accomplished with my petty sacrifices, it humbles me to the reality of my situation and my absolute dependence on my Father for everything that I am and have. I haven’t “earned� a thing; I’ve been given everything. I’m gratful that the Church gives us the chance to

This weekend marks another of the great annual rites of spring: it’s time to “spring� ahead to Daylight Savings Time.

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday about this annual event written by Michael Downing, author of the book Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time. In my mind, madness is too kind a description.

According to Downing, we have a Brit to thank for coming up with this less than wonderful idea. In 1907 William Willett, an avid outdoorsman and, evidently, an eccentric, got the notion while riding through London at dawn on a spring morning. It seems he noticed that, remember this was at dawn, most windows were shuttered against the early summer sun. While I think this is an eminently sensible thing for most people to do at dawn, Willett thought it a crying shame. It entered his head that if clocks were set an hour ahead people would have extra time to use “for rifle practice.� Were I around when Willett came up with this hare brained idea I might have suggested him for a target for my rifle practice, but, in any case, his idea was quickly shouted down in Parliament.

Then came WW I and, in the spirit of all-out warfare, the Germans got wind of the idea and adopted it in 1916. Seems they were under the mistaken idea that later sunsets would reduce the demand for electric lighting. Of course, the Brits fell into the trap and adopted in soon after. The U.S. entered the war in 1918, war fever took hold, and the first Daylight Savings law passed in March of that year.

The law was repealed in 1919, after the end of the war, and it wasn’t until 1942, with the onslaught of WW II that Congress passed another DST law which was repealed in September, 1945.

Various U.S. cities adopted their own versions of Daylight Savings time after the war, mostly the large cities with major league baseball teams. Downing writes that “By 1965, of the 130 cities with populations over 100,000, 71 did and 59 did not [have a DST law in place.].� Obviously, at least to a Congressman, Federal action was needed, and in 1966 the first Uniform Time Act was passed. The law, which as Downing notes, displayed a certain wisdom lost on future Congresses, mandated that each state either adopt a state-wide six-month period of DST or stay on Standard Time. In 1986, believing a Department of Commerce estimate that extending DST into the winter months could save up to 100,000 barrels of oil a day to be God’s truth, Congress extended the measure to seven months a year. This Congress also promised that this idyllic seven month annual foray into never-never land would also see reduced traffic accidents and crime, must have been an election year. Finally, last year Congress again fiddled with the clocks so that in 2007 we will see DST started in early March and continue until sometime in November.

As Downing points out, Daylight Savings will mean that in November, 2007 in large parts of the country, the sun will not rise until 8:30 in the morning and will set by 5:45 PM. He also points out that this fiddling with the clock has for too long substituted for coming up with an intelligent national energy policy. DST seems to be Congress’ way to demonstrate action while really doing nothing. He quotes Representative Charles Rose who is reminded of a Native American’s definition of DST, “The white man cutting an inch off the bottom of his blanket and sewing it to the top to make it longer.�

I think it might be wise to remember the great prayer of Psalm 74

Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;
You have prepared the light and the sun.
You have established all the boundaries of the earth;
You have made summer and winter. (NASB)

Maybe, the Good Lord knows what He’s doing.

As I have said many times before, I have the attention span of a gnat. I can become interested in a topic and spend some time studying a topic and then something else comes up and I get interested in that and forget about the first thing, then a new idea comes to my attention and, well you get the idea. Part of the problem is that, I usually work more than a 40 hour week, and time off is in short supply, and there are so many things I like to do. And, too, I am still plugging away at the mystery novel, and that takes a good deal of time. Whatever the reason, the lack of focus has, for sure, been apparent here, because my posting, when I bother to post, has been of a wide variety of type and subject.

I was thinking about this and wondering what I would do to change it. Then, it ocurred to me that, at least some things I like to write about are not things that would attract a wide audience, or even be of much interest, to many others. Then, (I had a bit of free time today and really allowed my mind to rove), then, I thought, well, what am I most interested in?

I decided to try a little experiment to find out, so I bought a three pack of Moleskine softcover notebooks and decided to devote one to a daily listing of things that catch my attention during the day. If I can manage to be faithful to the practice this might be a dandy Lenten penance, with the added benefit that I might discern a predominant pattern and try to focus on that for the blog. First thing I did in my new notebook was try a preliminary list of things I really find interesting. Here it is, items listed not necessary in the order of importance.

1. Catholic Apologetics:
2. Poetry (a newly developing area of reading):
3. The relationship between science and religion (notice I said “relationship� and not “tension�);
4. Darwinism (evolutionary) vs. Intelligent Design (I’m afraid I come down on the ID side);
5. American history:

a. Colonial period
b. WW II military
c. Early National, through Jackson

6. Reformation history;
7. Moral theology, especially the virtues;
8. Mystery writing;
9. Monasticism, especially the Desert Fathers;
10. The Church.

As for my first entries in my new notebook, I came across three or four items on the web today.

First, there was a Zenit story about a statement Benedict XV made on Lenten penance today, a portion of which read:

Benedict XVI says that Lent is not a "heavy obligation" but rather a time of renewal for those who have found in Jesus the meaning of life.

The Pope spoke of preparing for Easter to the thousands gathered today in St. Peter's Square to pray the midday Angelus. The Holy Father commented on Mark 2:18-20, from the day's liturgy, in which Christ explains why his apostles did not fast.

They "cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them," the Pope said, quoting Christ, "they will fast when the bridegroom is taken from them."

With these words, Christ revealed "his identity of Messiah, Israel's bridegroom, who came for the betrothal with his people," explained Benedict XVI.

"Those who recognize and welcome him are celebrating. However, he will have to be rejected and killed precisely by his own: At that moment, during his Passion and death, the hour will come of mourning and fasting," explained the Bishop of Rome, showing out the meaning of Lent.

"As a whole, it constitutes a great memorial of the Lord's passion, in preparation for the Easter resurrection," he continued. "During this period the 'Alleluia' is not sung and we are invited to practice appropriate forms of penitential denial."

The Lenten season "must not be faced with an 'old' spirit, as if it were a heavy and tedious obligation, but with the new spirit of the one who has found in Jesus and his paschal mystery the meaning of life, and feels that everything must make reference to him," the Pope exhorted.

Closely related to this was two posts coming from Steven at Flos Carmeli, here and here. The first was a short note in which he pointed out that, instead of trying to decide what we need or want to give up for Lent, a better approach would be to pray and ask God what He would like us to do. Wonderful, and very obvious idea. Why didn’t I think of that?

The other was a caution not to get discouraged if your fail in your chosen Lenten penance, simply because you will fail. The thing to do is just pick up and start again. Again, a very simple, and useful reminder.

The thing about all three of these items is that they correspond to the pattern of spiritual advice that would come from any advisor coming from the heart of the church – their advice is steeped in Wisdom. These ideas are very wise and very practical; they meet us where we are and point us, simply, in the right direction.

The last item is that, while I had some time to kill after work today, I picked up a book by Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Way. I think I might use this for my Lenten reading.

Anyway, that’s a brief run down of my first day’s listing of items of interest. I don’t know if I’ll post this everyday, I will do my best to keep the notebook current. I guess we’ll see how this goes.

I wish everyone a very blessed and Happy Thanksgiving.

I am taking a few minutes to review what I am most grateful for and first on the list must be the mercy and goodness God has shown to be throughout my life. This has been true even when I least desired it; it seems a miracle that I would have even the merest shred of faith today, and even more that I would be looking forward to participation at Mass a little later this morning. I know that, left to my own devices, this would never have happened and I shudder to think what would.

Of course, I am grateful for wife and family and three very mischievous cats that are a constant reminder of God’s creative power and sense of humor. I understand a little better each day what St. Francis meant when he saw God’s loving had in all of creation.

I am grateful to live in Colorado. I attended my high school reunion in Detroit a month or so ago, and it now seems so foreign. Time has not been kind to my home town and I am sorry for that, but the mountains are my home. Every day in Colorado is a surprise. This morning the sunrise is soft and the ground looks fresh as if there had just been an overnight rain shower, even though it is now much more likely to snow than rain.

I am grateful to have work to do and the freedom to post my rants and raves and ramblings on this blog, and I pray that all of us will have time today to take a few moments to thank our Lord for all His gifts.

In early November I lost my job, the result of corporate reorganization. After a relatively short job hunt I made the transition to a new workplace. Part of the transition has involved putting in a lot of hours at the new job trying to get things under control and learn a new system. It was a painful time; I guess as I get older, I find change a great deal more difficult than in years past. However, out of this experience of loss, I have learned a valuable lesson.

The lesson is one that only came into focus for me with the approach of Lent this year. Early last week, reflecting on all that had happened, and feeling a bit sorry for myself, I began to get one of those all too rare glimpses into the reality of our lives. It is, I think, at the heart of the message the Church wishes to teach us during the Lenten season. I’d like to try to share that.

St. Francis embraced lady poverty as a total surrender of himself to live the Gospel. I think, like most Americans, I tended to take this somewhat too literally, to look at it only in material terms. That is an error, one that strikes to the heart of what St. Francis was trying to say. I am not saying that material wealth is not the obstacle that Francis would teach us all to overcome; Francis would never have said that. But material wealth is only one aspect of what Francis understood as poverty. We can try to “own” anything that we become attached to. Yet, the heart of poverty is surrender, “Rend your hearts, not your garments.”

Looking back over the last six months or so, the thing I began to see is that poverty means lack of ownership. My life had been so stable, so routine, for so long, that I began to take for granted that it would continue on that way as long as I wished. I began to think I had a right to my job, my family, my house, everything, and that nothing could upset my own little, private, apple cart. Of course, that’s nonsense. I began to see that poverty, or better, Poverty, means lack of ownership. I don’t own anything, and I must be able to surrender everything back to God at any time. On His terms. Only when I am ready to do that can I know the true meaning of Poverty.

The thing that made the job loss so painful to me, and that I have found so difficult to offer up, is that I failed to see that I didn’t own that job, and I don’t own the one I have now. I “own” nothing. God, our loving Father, owns it all. Looking back, I think the thing that most astonishes me is how little gratitude I felt for the wonderful things in my life. I took everything for granted. I think, “How could I have been so stupid?” And yet, at the same time, I sense that I must learn to be grateful even for my ingratitude. It has taught me a lesson.

Some years ago, David Steindl Rast wrote a book, Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer. In it, in the table of contents, is the following summary of the first chapter:

"That you have not yet died is not sufficient proof that you are alive. Aliveness is measured by degrees of awareness."

Poverty means being aware of and grateful for any little gift from a loving God, whether it is a spectacular Rocky Mountain sunrise, a hot cup of coffee in the morning, the morning commute to work, or the day to day trials of life. It is accepting, thankfully, anything that God allows to happen to us during the day. It means not resenting those things that we would wish to avoid, and, most of all, not taking them for granted. It is, I think, being aware that we own nothing, and receive everything, every minute, from our loving Father. Janis Joplin sang that “Freedoms just another word for nothin’ left to lose.” There is some truth here: being truly free, embracing Lady Poverty, means that we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. All we have to do is be ready to give it all away.

This Lent, I hope to be able to say, I have learned that lesson well. I pray you all will grow in union with our Lord and be ready to celebrate His rising to New Life on Easter Sunday morning.

Writing in the late 1940’s, Merton seems to have thought that a widespread spiritual awakening was imminent. He also seems to have thought that this reawakening was vitally important to the future of the West, that it would prevent a “complete moral collapse.”

Merton saw the possibility that this anticipated reawakening would be very wide but not very deep. He thought, rightly I believe, that unless Christians rejected the attractions of the world and grounded their lives in contemplation, time spent in silence with God, they would end up being overcome by the world, rather than being the leaven that would turn the world to God. The revolution would come only if Christians took the bold step of being Christian.

Christian Tradition has taught that turning to God is simply to orient one’s life to the reality of our human existence. Merton wrote that our human nature imposes a fundamental structure to the way we must live our lives. “We must know the truth, and we must love the truth we know, and we must act according to the measure of our love.” The truth is that God created us for Himself, our “chief end” as the Shorter Catechism puts it, “is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” The Teacher wrote thousands of years ago that “. . .there is nothing new under the sun.” This is the conundrum of the atheist -- for him there is nothing outside of time on this earth. The Christian knows that to live according to reality one must always be aware of the immense and gracious gift of eternal life that is ours through Christ. The first stepin this awareness is rejection of the world, what St. Francis knew as Lady Poverty.

Those who have embraced the world may view this as childish dreaming or wishful thinking. But drawing on the writings of Pascal and St. Gregory of Nyssa Merton shows that it is the world that presents us with the illusion. Not that the world is not objectively real, it is and we know this by our senses, as well as common sense. The illusion comes when we do not see the world as it is, something that we can easily spend our lives chasing but that will never give us satisfaction. We see power, wealth, things as the highest good that we can achieve, but this is only self-delusion, we give it value that it does not inherently possess. It is like holding a discount coupon for our favorite restaurant and believing it is worth a million dollars. The coupon is objectively real but it is only “worth” the amount of the discount printed on it, our self-deception gives it a value it does not really have. We chase the goods of the world because they distract us from our own sinfulness, from ourselves, not for the value we receive from it.

This is what we try to remind ourselves of each Lenten season. Our fasts are not to torture ourselves with the temporal suffering or inconvenience of something we “give up”, but rather to help us come to know the truly important things in our lives. It is a time for “discernment and detachment” and gives us a chance to use our reason in order to grow in faith. As Merton says, “Reason is in fact the path to faith, and faith takes over when reason can say no more.”

I look forward to hearing tomorrow’s reading from Joel again. It has always seemed to me to be the perfect reading for the beginning of the penitential season.

Joel 2:12-13 (ESV)

"Yet even now," declares the Lord,
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments."
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.

Rend your hearts, not your garments.

From the beginning of my initial conversion experience the one concern I had was that of being honest with God, sincere. I thought that the most important part of my relationship with Him and I wanted to avoid becoming a Christian for what I could get out of it, in other words, simply to save my own skin. I knew my skin badly needed saving, (still does, I have done little to improve that situation) but it seemed there should be much more to it. I have always thought it easy to appear to be a Christian and much harder to be a Christian.

There is more to it, as it turns out. According to verse 14, the Lord is “slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, he is gracious and merciful“, but He does ask something of us. He asks is that we return to Him with “fasting, weeping, and mourning.” It might seem that this verse is an argument for the Protestant idea of salvation by grace alone, rather than “works.” But, as many of you may already know, I think that what we do is as important as what we believe. We can know something in our heads, but if we do nothing about it, that knowledge will have little impact on our lives. At the same time, it would be a mistake to think we can earn salvation, or achieve union with God by our own efforts. The “works” that are pleasing to God are those we are about to renew in our lives over the next 40 days -- “fasting, weeping, and mourning” making a sincere effort at returning to God. We are about to enter a season for the best work of all, repentance. I hope you all have a rich and rewarding experience in the desert that lies ahead.