Think of it. Conviction! Correction! Mortification! Recognition of faults and failings! Oh, surely it must be time for the Dance of Joy!
No, I'm not being sarcastic. Not in the slightest. Nor have I lost my senses. I suspect it's much more likely that I've found them.
I have enough sense to know that joy is not what 'the world' equates with pleasure, entertainment, success. I have enough sense to know that repentance and acceptance of God's forgiveness brings a joy like no other. I have enough sense to know that Our Lord saved me by His death and resurrection. That realization alone should send me dancing.
By the sheer grace of God, this year I have the good sense to run toward the genuine joy of Lent.
'Be merry, really merry. The life of a true Christian should be a perpetual jubilee, a prelude to the festivals of eternity.' Theophane Venard
'Count it pure joy when you are involved in every sort of trial. Realize that when your faith is tested, this makes for endurance. Let endurance come to its perfection so that you may be fully mature and lacking in nothing.' James 1:2-4
'In God alone is the primordial and true delight, and in all our delights it is this delight that we are seeking.' St. Bonaventure
'Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin. All hope consists in confession. In confession there is a chance for mercy. Believe it firmly. Do not doubt, do not hesitate, never despair of the mercy of God.' St. Isidore
Laurel and Hardy Dancing illustration in public domain.
This post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Linkup blitz
Nancy, as an adult who has grown up in the faith, I have come to love lent! Some years are drier than others and I'm hoping to make this my best lent ever :) Praying that yours will be truly a spiritual growth that produces much fruit!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in the faith also, but can't honestly say that I looked forward to Lent in my youth. Sadly, I normally endured it with a, well... a bit of grumbling. OUCH. Such a sign of holiness?!! (obviously not!). But now I see it quite differently, thanks be to God.
DeleteI pray your Lent will produce much fruit also, and thank you!
I, too, look forward to Lent every year. For me it is a time of cleansing, a time of quiet soul searching with the hope of growing closer to my Lord, to walk those steps of Calvary with Him in hope to grow in a deeper understanding of His love for me.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post. Thank you.
To walk those steps of Calvary with Him... yes. A time of growing in understanding of His love for us. Are we not greatly privileged?! INDEED.
DeleteThank you. And thanks be to God!
I look forward to Lent also because it is a time that I know I will finally take seriously those little little thoughts inside of my head that keep saying, "you really should be doing this or that or curbing this or doing more of that." I have to take it seriously because I consider myself really accountable to God, especially during Lent...well always...I also love reading about Jesus' Passion at this time. Being connected with Christ is so refreshing and healing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Monica. In a way, I think Lent can be a kind of 6 week retreat right in the midst of our daily activities... which can of course be challenging, but worth the effort!
DeleteSuch beautiful words. (my kids loved your dancers, even though they're too young to know who they are!)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kathleen. I'm glad your kids liked the dancers. I enjoyed finding them, and with their city backdrop I keep think of "West Side Story!" ("when - you're - a - Jet - you're - a - Jet - all - the - way....")(which YOU are too young to remember, but I suspect you know what it was :)...)
DeleteNancy,
ReplyDeleteYour animation made me smile!
I have mixed feeling about Lent. I know it will be an exciting time of spiritual growth if I am ready to work. But I also feel so much grief during Lent, my own pain returns and I share that of other people. It's just that time of year! I have to remind myself that Easter follows Lent, and we will be truly dancing on Easter Sunday after following Jesus along the road to Calvary and His cross.
Thank you, Sue. And now I feel like little dancing figures seem totally out of place, in light of our Holy Father's news. I realized after posting this that the little figures actually danced in thumbnails on other people's blogrolls!!!!! (I would have thought they'd be stationery in thumbnails!). How distracting! So I posted again this morning, as much as anything to get those dancers off the scene. I used them initially because they seemed kind of pre-Lent-festive (mardi gras-ish). But today doesn't feel like a time for dancing.
ReplyDeleteNancy,
ReplyDeleteIt was so delightful seeing those figures dancing in my blog feed. They made me smile every time I scrolled through my post notifications. Not distracting at all!
The first message I read online this morning was, "Let us pray for a new pope." I couldn't understand why we needed a new pope until I saw all the blog posts on this topic. Yes, my heart felt very heavy too. Now I am thinking about how we wept when John Paul II died and we couldn't imagine another Holy Father leading us, but God is good and always looks after us so well. He gave us Pope Benedict, and He will again choose a good shepherd for us. But mixed in with the hope and trust, there is still grief. One doesn't cancel out the other.
Let's keep dancing Nancy. There is still much to rejoice about. And this Lent with everyone praying and a new pope elected... it will be an extraordinary time.
God bless you!
Thanks, Sue. I also feel this Lent will be extraordinary. After the initial shock of the announcement (which I, too, learned online this morning), I now feel a great peace. Thanks be to God - and God bless you too!
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