What My Dogs Can Teach Me About Lent

           My dogs love to run and play at the dog park, especially when some of their canine (and human!) friends are there. It’s fascinating to watch how they all play; in the same situation, they take a very different approach. Comet, for example, part greyhound, has a RUN RUN RUN! mentality as she tries to keep up with the other dogs. Watson (older and stockier!) tends to strategise a bit, watching and waiting until the chase gets near enough for him to pounce on in. 
            It’s amusing to watch, as the streamlined Comet goes as fast as her name suggests, loves to run in bursts – the faster the better. Watson, of course, still wants to play despite his lesser energy levels and previous injuries, and lower agility.  However, they both have fun, they both have the happy wagging tails and smiling faces, they both come home exhausted (and nap well as a result!) 
            They are using what they have, in the best ways possible. 
            Lent offers us the chance to reflect in on our own lives, to use what we have, to the best use possible. It’s why we are invited to reflect for ourselves on what we want to give up, what spiritual practices we’ll take on, what our fasting will focus on, etc. For example, the folks who are giving up coffee to donate that money to the food bank – wonderful! But such an act would be useless for someone who doesn’t drink coffee. 
            It is intentional that our Lenten practices are open to interpretation, as we all experience the spiritual journey uniquely. Our temptations are different, our abilities and gifts are different, our opportunities are different - but the goal is the same: a holy and spiritually fulfilling Lenten season. 
            Wherever you are in your Lenten journey, I hope it is a meaningful one for you – a time for prayer and reflection, for an honest recognition of the God-given gifts that you have, and of the opportunities that are being revealed for you to use those gifts. 

Branded

I was watching some hockey this week – and anyone who could have seen it would have had no doubt what team I support. I was wearing a Jets shirt and hoodie and hat, and my house socks are branded with the Jets logo; even my tea mug was from the 2016 Heritage game. Go Jets Go!

In our modern society, it’s not uncommon for us to display brands: our shoes have logos and tag lines, our clothing declares allegiances (to sports teams or companies), we carry bags or find masks that show our support for one brand over another. And these allegiances can be easily changed with a simple change of attire.

I found my extreme weekend-Jets-wear to be a bit ironic given where we are in the liturgical calendar: this week we will recognise Ash Wednesday. A day to formally enter into Lent; a time of prayer and fasting and almsgiving. And we make this entry with a symbolic branding of our lives aligning with Christ. 

The mark of the cross on our foreheads reminds us of so many aspects of our spiritual journey: in our baptism we receive the chrismation in oil on that spot, this is reaffirmed at our confirmation, anointing in sickness reiterates this connection. We are bearing the mark of Christ, declaring to the world who and whose we are. It is a powerful ritual and tradition in our faith. 

So this year, whether people receive the physical imposition of ashes or not, it will be different. Those churches offering the ashes will do so at a distance, either in take-home packages or with single-use disposable implements. In our congregation here in Lunenburg, we will not gather in person, but in prayer as we live-stream prayers at noon. The reminder of our temporality on earth and permanence in Christ is no less poignant, however, as the power of prayer is primary. 

And so, unlike with modern brands, regardless if we are physically seen wearing this ashen symbol, we wear it and bear it every day. For this spiritual marking and sealing is undeniable – and for that we can be grateful. And I’ll still declare “Go Jets Go!” when the hockey game is on, more importantly I aspire to live the implications of the mark of the cross every moment of my life. 
 

Mementos

Mementos in the car - traveling joys! 

Throughout my life, I have collected mementos: things to remind me of special people and experiences that have had been formative and edifying. I think this is normal; while I know that these things do not fully capture the essence of the event, they convey a key emotion: the concert photos call to mind the songs sung with a friend, the greeting card tucked under the windshield a kind expression of kin-ship on a road trip, the half-masticated book a gnarled (and gnawed!) recollection of a puppy's teething times.

The emotional or sentimental value is undisputed. These triggered memories offer warmth to our minds and hearts as they transport us to a different time and space. When we can chose the memento we are choosing the memory - usually a time of connection, of love, of happiness.

Perhaps this is why I am so intentional about keeping mementos wherever I am... the coffee mugs at the office are gifts from friends, as though they were joining me daily for that caffeine hit and a conversation... the baby photo of my godson tucked in the visor of the car, giving me a swelling heart every time the sun is out... the jewelry with connections that span continents and decades. 

So too, I have numerous mementos that connect to my faith development and spiritual journey: the soapstone seal on my nightstand a daily reminder of a friends' prayers over me... the photo of the sunrise view from the day I could first articulate a calling to the priesthood... the stole that was placed on my shoulders at my home parish when I was ordained. 

The beauty of mementos is that whatever part of our life they come from and represent, they carry with them some form of connection. They forever link us to spaces and places that show us what it is like to love and be loved, what it is like to be unrestricted by constructs of time, and released from social expectation of worth. 

So let's carry these mementos with us - at home or work or in-between - for anything that can bring us a joy-filled memory is a thing that is truly to be cherished.