By RUBY THOMAS and MARNIE McALLISTER
How attached are we to our stuff?
Art Turner, director of the Office of Faith Formation, is asking himself that question this Lent as he faces an overabundance of household items and keepsakes from deceased loved ones,
“A lot of folks tie in Spring cleaning with Lent,” he noted. “At my house, we have dead relatives’ stuff, and we’re wondering where we’re going to put all this stuff.
“I prepared this Lent to go through a reflective purging and to have a sense of gratitude,” he said, noting that he finds it particularly hard to part with items connected to important memories and people in his life, even a torn T-shirt given to him by a dear friend.
As he attempts to let go, he said, it’s an opportunity to remember the people who have touched his life and express gratitude for them.
While this purging will certainly lift a material load from his life, Turner noted that the real benefit lies in detachment — letting go of these items as a spiritual exercise.
Lenten practices — whether giving something up or adding something to your life — are “a spiritual exercise designed to bring us closer to Christ.”
“Losing weight is a good thing; it cleanses your body. But you have to begin with, ‘How will this bring me closer to Christ? ‘ ” he said. “Come Easter time, we are not only celebrating the resurrection of Christ. I should be a new person because of the spiritual exercises I’ve been through.”
Turner noted that we are called to conversion year round, but Lent is an opportunity to be more intentional about it “so when Easter comes I rise up as a new person.”
Following are some ways people in the pew are seeking closeness with Christ this Lent.
Adriene Taylor-Mitchell, a member of St. Martin de Porres Church, is living the Lenten season by spending time in prayer and cultivating fellowship.
She attends early morning Mass at St. Xavier High School, where her son is a senior, every Friday then attends a prayer group at the school, which prays for students, faculty and staff. She also attends Mass and Stations of the Cross at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, where she’s the parish secretary, on Fridays.
She ends her day helping out at Immaculate Heart of Mary’s fish fry. By the end of the day “My whole Friday has been blessings, prayer, friends and fellowship,” she said.
Taylor-Mitchell said she gave up drinking wine for Lent, but “I do take the Blood (of Jesus),” she said. She’s also given up bread and potato chips, but she’s also taken up praying more and observing silence.
“I’m just doing what he asked us to — serve, love and share. Giving all my time to him, spending quiet time with the Lord, just thinking,” said Taylor-Mitchell.
Gwen Crawford, a parishioner of Holy Trinity Church, said she approached the Lenten season differently this year.
“There have been many Lents when I’ve given up something and, by the end, it didn’t make me more charitable,” said Crawford. “I felt called this Lent to give up rushing around. … I wanted to take my schedule to prayer and decide what to take off my plate.”
Crawford explained that her busy schedule was starting to affect her sleep and she was frequently running late because she was doing too much.
Instead, she said, she wanted to “arrive early and be available for divine appointments — those unexpected people you run into that end up being a beautiful conversation or noticing something I wouldn’t have noticed before.”
Crawford said she’s always valued productivity, however, she’s realized, “There needs to be a balance.”
Since the start of Lent, Crawford, who’s an “empty-nester,” said she’s been taking morning walks “unplugged so I can hear the birds or engage with someone.”
This Lenten practice has spilled over into her work life as well. She’s taking time to sit and eat lunch with her coworkers instead of working through her break.
“I’m sitting and eating with colleagues, cultivating communion, talking to them and finding out more about them,” she said.
Additionally, she’s been going through her closet and her pantry and donating unnecessary items.
“We’re trying not to fill everything to the brim and looking at what we have that may bless someone else,” she said.
Michele Jackson, a member of the Shrine of St. Martin of Tours, said this Lenten season she’s focused on being present during Mass and taking more steps to evangelize.
“My focus has been being more mindful of distractions before, during and after Mass, she said. Jackson’s Lenten practices include attending daily Mass, going to confession and praying the Stations of the Cross.
She has also been “taking more chances evangelizing,” she said.
“When I feel someone needs to hear, I just go ahead and tell them about God. You never know when you plant those seeds if people will listen to you or not” but it’s important to do so anyway, she said.
Jackson also takes the Lenten call to fast and to abstain seriously, she said, adding that the practices have become a way of life for her. She has been fasting and abstaining from meat on Fridays for 10 years. Twelve years ago, she stopped eating meat completely, but started adding chicken back into her diet this year, she said.
“I felt called to do that,” she said.
This Lenten season she’s also more focused on the Word of God.
“I’m reading more Scripture and being more focused on the Word of God,” she said, noting that she asks, “What can I do with it and who can I share it with?”
