T
he Great Fast of Lent is stretching out to the horizon. We enter into the Desert with our Lord on Ash Wednesday, and accompany him in his privation for six weeks. My weak flesh wants nothing to do with Lent, but my soul is panting for it -- my inner life has been dry lately, and it wants the sustenance of silence and discipline. A great many things are changing in our lives at present, and we need to set the compass straight.
Paul Kingsnorth tells us that our culture wants all feast, and no fast -- but that's not the way it works. The seasons of the old church calendar are calling us to the rhythm of the world, as of sacred order. Things bloom, then wither, and bloom again. I pray I'm strong enough to wither well.