Lenten Journey


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On Feb. 14, Ash Wednesday, we begin our Lenten journey. Some of us dread the six weeks of fasting and penance. We think we have to do all sorts of hard things so God will be pleased with us.

I am reminded of Mary Oliver's poem, "Wild Geese." She says: "You don't have to be good/ You don't have to walk on your knees/ for a hundred miles through the desert repenting/ You only have to let the soft animal of your body/ love what it loves."

I smile at the thought of walking on my knees for a hundred miles through the desert. I know I'd never make it. We need to realize that God loves us no matter what we do. We are asked to be loving in return. When we are in love, nothing is too much for us to do for our Beloved. We would be ready to run in circles, dance a jig, sing a song, pray with gusto.

We do not need to earn God's love by being good. God cannot NOT love us!  He sends the sun and the rain and the snow to nourish the earth. He welcomes our puny efforts and showers us with graces galore. When we embrace all of God's gifts of sea and sky and earth, the journey is not so burdensome. Loving creation in all its multi-faceted changes makes the path inviting. There will certainly be rocks and gulleys, heights and depths to fill our days, but God's blessing will be upon us through it all.

So let the "soft animal of your body love what it loves" during this Lenten season.





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