Dear Loyola community,
I greet you with joy this Ash Wednesday! I know what you are thinking, Joy? During Lent? It is true that Lent is often associated with a 40-day period of fasting and penance leading to Easter, but it is so much more than that. The name “Lent” is from the Old English word “Lencten,” meaning spring. Lent is a springtime for the spirit, a season of renewal. If we shift our understanding of Lent from a time of denial to a time of renewal, it can open us to reflecting on restoration of our God-given wholeness, and not on homing in on our brokenness and weaknesses. Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun and theologian, said of Lent:
Lent is about becoming, doing, and changing
whatever it is that is blocking the fullness of life in us right now.
Lent is a summons to live anew.
This resonates with the passage in Joel, read today during Ash Wednesday services, which makes God’s call to us clear: “Return to me with your whole heart” (Joel 2:12).
Here is what I plan to do for Lent; will you consider joining me? I will pray about what is blocking the fullness of life for me right now. I will discern how this season of Lent can be a time of renewal, a time of reflecting on and engaging with what brings me joy, what makes me feel whole. May praying with these questions, ultimately draw us closer to God. May these questions also invite conversations in our campus community of how we can nurture spaces and opportunities for all to experience joy, renewal, and the fullness of life.
Emily Jendzejec, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Pastoral Studies, Loyola Institute for Ministry
