A Lent that Lingers

This Lent may have been one of the most impactful seasons of my life.

It began with a four-day silent retreat.

I gave up more than usual.

I took on more than usual.

I (very much) felt the sacrifice.

It was difficult, until it wasn’t.

And now? I’m not sure I want it to end.

The truth is nothing’s stopping me from continuing these practices. I don’t have to limit what brings me closer to God to forty days in the spring. But I wonder if I’d make it through if I tried the same thing during a random stretch in October.

I’ll probably never know. Because, honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever try.

Why not?

There’s (just) something about journeying through Lent while others are doing the same.

Misery loves company? Nah.

There’s safety in numbers? Nope.

Maybe it’s what Jesus said: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst.”

That togetherness makes the hard parts feel bearable, maybe even beautiful.

And the culmination of it all, as we enter the Triduum, is incomparable.

There’s no duplicating that sense of holy momentum any other time of year.

So maybe I’ll just sprinkle some of this year’s Lenten practices into ordinary days.

It won’t be the same.

But it’s not nothing.

And “not nothing,” in the Kingdom of God, is often more than enough.

Think mustard seed.