Sisters and brothers, please find below excerpts from thoughts about Lent by
Christopher Heffron, editor of St. Anthony Messenger magazine, February 2023
issue. I hope you find them as beneficial as I did! Michele Dunne, OFS
“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” cried Howard
Beale, the prophetic news anchor in the 1976 film Network. These hardly
feel like the right words to start the Lenten season, but my mind keeps
returning to the character’s fiery oration. In that scene, Beale articulated a
collective rage that was both of its time and evergreen: People were angry
in the post-Watergate United States, and people are angry today (myself
included).
You cannot be alive in this century without knowing anger and fear in
equal measure. As a nation, we are divided by politics. As a global
community, we are still navigating a virus that has redefined ‘normal.’
Even the Church is not immune to scandal and backbiting. I think I’m right
that we are, collectively, tired.
But after a deep breath, I am reminded that we are better than this. And
while being angry may not be the ideal frame of mind when starting Lent,
these three quotations help me find a measure of peace:
• “Don’t let the sun go down upon your anger. Forgive each other,
help each other, and begin again tomorrow.” (Louisa May Alcott,
Little Women)
• “I’ve been looking for truth at the cost of living…every answer found
begs another question. The further you go, the less you know. The
less I know.” (James, song lyrics, “Five-O”)
• “To be saints is not a privilege for a few, but a vocation for
everyone.” (Pope Francis)
Maybe the best we can do is to simply quiet our minds and ready
ourselves for the season. Lent, after all demands patience. But it always
seems to start at a time when self-reflection is most needed. Sometimes it
helps to have people to encourage us.
Let us be there to encourage each other as Lent begins!