Throughout These Forty Days...

New Melleray Abbey, Peosta IA

(Special thanks to a fellow Jesuit for this picture)

This year, the 40 days of Lent line up with the final 40 days of my Boston Marathon training; the race is the day after Palm Sunday. In a sense, my approach to this period of time is guided by both physical and spiritual goals, the attainment of which will be influenced by a blend of my own actions and the realities over which I have no control.

With respect to Lent, some clear points of emphasis emerged as I prayed about how I wanted to spend this season of repentance and renewal. First of all, I wish to pray– not necessarily about my joys and my concerns, or those of others, or where God calls me to be at this point in my Jesuit life– but simply to create time and space in which I can pray, encountering God on our terms. Undoubtedly, other forms of prayer– personal discernment, intentional concern for others, contemplation on events great and small in the world– will emerge, but is my attentiveness and devotion to the foundation of my prayer that I wish to renew. Second, after months of doubting the effectiveness of my teaching and the potential for more meaningful connections with my colleagues, I wish to distance myself from the false, illusory thoughts that constrict my creativity, my happiness, and my ability to take prudent risks in the classroom and in the office. A third point of emphasis relates to the second; renewed in confidence by better collaboration and interaction with those around me, particularly in my position as a teacher, I wish to be more generous, selfless, and intentional in sharing my time, talents, and presence with members of the communities in which I participate.

As for Boston training, as I come to terms with symptoms of an injury, the five weeks remaining until Patriots' Day are now looking to be a time of more uncertainty than I had anticipated. My smooth progress through a methodical training schedule over the past ten weeks is now giving way to a need to listen carefully and honestly to my body, to humbly seek some more qualified advice, and to gingerly negotiate the boundary between rest and activity that could keep me on course to the starting line.

The steps I'll take this Lent, both physically and spiritually, will undoubtedly be a journey of faith, and an exercise in hope and trust.

Cohasset (MA) Harbor