Lent comes providentially to awaken us, to shake us from our lethargy.”  ~Pope Francis

I’m from a farming background and I am always grateful for this, as it has helped to ground me and connect me to nature each day. Today farming has become very modern but in my parent’s time they would have memories of milking the cows by hand. In every dairy parlour there was a three-legged stool to sit down on and make the job easy. It was easy to move around, and it served its purpose well.

But a feature of a three-legged stool is that once you remove one leg it just falls over. It cannot stay upright. The three-legged stool can stand for many things, but it especially stands for looking after our mind, body and spirit.

We are much better now at looking after our mind and mental health. We are excellent at looking after our bodies, eating the right food and getting exercise in. And looking after our spirit is also so important but it is often neglected. If it’s not looked after it is like removing a leg from a three-legged stool. It just falls over.

Many of the problems in our world today are due to not looking after our spirit. Our modern world thinks a three-legged stool can stand on two legs. As we know it can’t. The journey of Lent is such a wise and beautiful journey. It gives us plenty of time to nourish and look after our spirit and our spirituality.

Yes, sometimes this journey is not easy. Jesus reminds us about carrying our cross. Life is not easy sometimes. But our spirituality gives us strength and resilience to cope. It also gives us peace, a sense of purpose and a sense of hope.

As you journey through Lent, know it is not a race. Take your time. Often it’s the small things done well that are best of all.        I hope your Lenten journey goes well for each of you. And know that you are doing the journey not on your own.
We are doing it together.