A JOURNEY OF RENEWAL

We are all in need of a renewal. This January I sat down to pen my New Year’s Resolutions and I stopped when I listed twelve. I think of my A level biology teachers Fr Farfan and Mr Lorignard, both of them taught me of the sensitivity of plants and animals to adapt to their environments. They were in a constant state of renewal.

Yet so often we get stuck in a paradigm while our environment is changing. Sometimes it’s fear or just laziness, we get stuck in a comfort zone and refuse to accept that the environment is changing. It is actually changing and quite fast , like this documentary on the Universe, on Netflix, narrated by Morgan Freeman, explains. And it’s also changing socially and technologically.

This is where the season of Lent is a great help. It forces us to examine our lives through the eyes of Christ. This first week of Lent he has been forcing me to examine my motivations. Are they self centered or are they service oriented? Self centered motivations seem to be pushing us forward but in reality towards a dead end. Service oriented motivations lead us into open fields and blue ocean spaces. The opportunities are limitless.

Maybe we are stuck with an old concept of Lent , a perception from childhood, maybe we should re-examine it. Look at it in a new way – a new opportunity for a spirituality to suit your present day circumstances.

One thing I have learned on my journey to becoming a Catholic Deacon is that Christ pushes you further than you thought you could go. Imagine he started with a motley crew of fishermen and he built a church that spans the globe. Who knows what he has in store for you.

Here’s what I suggest- pick up the Bible like you have never picked it up before. Start with the New Testament- I recommend the Gospel of Mark – it’s fast paced , dramatic. But read it slow – 2 or 3 verses at a time – then close it and reflect, ponder it, apply it to your contemporary life. Take the whole of Lent to read it and enjoy the journey of renewal.