I’m a member of the Emmaus Community here in Victoria. A joint ministry between the Anglican and United churches, Emmaus is a neo-monastic Christian community whose members follow a personal Rule of Life consisting of prayer, simplicity and presence in their daily lives and in community. We also have a weekly service known as AbbeyChurch on Sundays at 4 at First Met (All are welcome!).
For Lent this year, those of us who journey together as members of Emmaus and AbbeyChurch are living into the season a bit differently. Instead of seeing Lent as a time of penitence and self-sacrifice (though we are giving up screens for at least one hour a day and spending it in prayer) we are embodying a spirit of letting go and of rest. We’re calling it “re-Lenting” and, as Emmaus Prior Matt Humphrey puts it, we’re looking at Lent not as a time of dragging on a hair shirt but of having a prayer shawl gently placed over our shoulders.
In an era of “hustle culture” and mindless capitalism, this re-Lenting has been a balm for me. Is it easy? Um, no. Some days every fibre of my being fights against the idea I don’t have to be doing something every moment. I struggle with remembering to shut off screens each day so I can just “be,” and I wouldn’t say I have a perfect record. But I let go of that too and just commit to doing my best.
I’ve collected some words of wisdom from various places to help me remember to rest and let go this Lenten season. One is a poem called “I’m giving up for Lent” by Lyndsay Rush. It’s a lovely short musing that starts with “What would it feel like to give up/ self-improvement/ for forty days” and also says “Sounds holy, if you ask me/ to be sold on life as-is/ to just exist…” I lead morning prayer for the community on Fridays and it’s been a staple in the liturgy for Lent. I normally switch up the poems I share, but I’ve kept it in each week as it bears repeating.
There’s also the Welcoming Prayer by Mary Mrozowski and Father Thomas Keating, which another Emmaus member has been using during Tuesday morning prayer. It starts with “Welcome, welcome, welcome. I welcome everything that comes to me today because I know it’s for my healing,” and first welcomes “all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons and conditions.” The poem then calls on us to let go of a desire for power and control, for survival and security, a desire to change a situation, condition, person or ourselves and several other things I find very hard to let go of most days. The whole poem is a call to re-Lent and let go so we can be “open to the love and presence of God and God’s action within.”
It's a tall order, but one I’m focusing on this Lent. Am I succeeding? Let’s just say I’m trying to not let this become another self-improvement project and I’m just acknowledging when I do let go and not beating myself up when I don’t. It’s like the “power word” we use in contemplative prayer to take us back to a focus on the Divine in that present moment. I recognize when my being is clenched up tight, holding onto something that’s not serving me, and I release.
It's been a rich re-Lenting season for me and I’m grateful to my Emmaus Community companions for a season full of reminders to let go, rest and let the Divine squeeze into the stillness that creates.
Kevin Aschenbrenner is a Victoria-based writer, poet and communications professional. He holds an M.A. in Culture and Spirituality from the Sophia Center at Holy Names University in Oakland, Calif. He blogs at www.dearpopefrancis.ca.
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking at https://www.timescolonist.com/blogs/spiritually-speaking
