Hey, scrupulous friends, somethings I have realized about Lent: it is super helpful to approach the season through a lens of gratitude and simplicity. Don't think of fasting or penance as "making yourself suffer" think of it as "leaning into holy simplicity." It is stripping away the unnecessary in order to focus on the One Thing, which is Christ. And when you focus on simplicity, you become more grateful, sensitive, and attuned to the beauty that is around you. For example, due to health reasons, I can't follow the ordinary Ash Wednesday/Good Friday fasting rules. I still fast from meat and snacking in between meals, but I have three normal sized meals. And it's still a beautiful experience, because I am so much more intentional about those meals. I am grateful for the food, and it tastes so much better because I know I need to savor that moment, cause I can't just go grab a snack later. And I am grateful knowing that my poverty (being mentally ill) is met with so much love and mercy by Jesus that I am not forced to do things that will hurt me.
Simplicity reminds us of our poverty, of our littleness and brokeness. But not of an icky, sad poverty. A poverty that means we are only very little toddlers, and we have a Father who wants to shower all of the riches of the world on us. But we can't earn them. Lent is time of purification, not a time of punishment. It is a time of sanctification, not a time of self-flagellation.
If you find Lent to be anxiety inducing, maybe this year approach it with a spirit of gratitude and simplicity!
