A link from a writer we respect led Bill to a totally unfamiliar blog,

which in turn sparked these reflections

about the meaning of Lent for us.

It was a single line that caught my attention, a single bullet-point in a lengthy list:

·        Four ‘C’s’: Calling (as in what am I called to do or be?), Culling, Curating, Contributing.

The author, Michael Kroth, did not flesh them out any further, but somehow those words leapt off the screen: “What a helpful checklist for Lent!” I thought. During Lent, I will try to keep all four in mind.

Calling. What am I called to do or to be? At my age, I’m not considering new career options. Still, asking this is appropriate for Lent, at any age. What am I called to do in this season of my life? Who am I called to be? It might be different from what it was five or ten years ago. Where are my growing edges? What are my deepest hungers?

Culling. Here’s the traditional “giving something up for Lent.” What do I need to cull out of my life? It might not be noticeably evil. It might just be less good than it could be. Instead of playing another few games of computer solitaire, could I use that time for prayer? Or writing a note to an old friend? During Lent, may I be more mindful of my choices.

Curating. To curate is “to select … especially for presentation, distribution, or publication.” For Lent, I see this metaphorically. What things of value am I helping to maintain and to pass on to others? It may be time to think once again about the environment – how am I tending to God’s created world? But it could also be tending a friendship, nurturing it back to good health.

Contributing. Where am I making a difference? How do I contribute to a club I belong to, or to the congregation where I worship? How do I contribute as a citizen? As a friend or neighbor? Not all contribute in the same way: some are leaders, others are encouragers, others help far behind the scenes. No matter our skills, each has something to contribute to those around us.

I certainly don’t have answers to all those questions myself. But I am hopeful. I will carry those Four Cs with me along this year’s Lenten journey. I trust they will help me find my way.

I suppose loving plants is in my DNA. My father, who owned a grocery store, brought home overripe produce and planted salvageables in the yard and flowerbeds – a peach tree, an avocado tree grown from their pits; in the flowerbeds grew Kentucky Wonder beans, garlic, shallots, radishes, and especially horseradish. Daily, he cared for and lovingly cultivated the flowerbed garden, always harvesting with a smile. In that tradition, Springtime for me means pruning and fertilizing the potted plants growing on the deck (and surviving the winter), cultivating them back to health.

Our liturgical season of Lent arrives in Springtime. In fact, the term Lent derives from an Anglo-Saxon word lencten, meaning to lengthen, as in lengthened days of Spring. For many, Lent is considered a “spiritual spring”. It is a time to cultivate our spiritual life.

How do I cultivate my spiritual life? Quite simply, to grow in love of God, ourselves, and others; to tenderly love our neighbors as ourselves. In a word, prune away negativity and insularity.

Daddy very often reminded me that friends had to be cultivated. Be positive and open. Smile. As usher in his church, he fulfilled this ministry even up to a month before he died at age 93. He passed the basket on a stick long enough to reach halfway down the pew. One day when I was sitting across the church from him, I noticed a wave of smiles on the faces of those he had just passed by. Lent is a good time to cultivate friendships, to bring smiles to the lonely and suffering, especially ourselves.

It is a time to deepen our relationship with God and to cultivate “a friendship like no other.” A Friendship Like No Other is a small, simple book that is one of the best I know of for cultivating a spiritual life. Lent is a good time to grow the habit of spiritual reading. Reading and meditation. Ignatius of Loyola asks us to sit and reflect upon how God looks at us: gaze at God gazing at us.

From Psalm 24:7: “One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” (NIV)

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