Ian said to Toula in My Big Fat Greek Wedding: “I just want to spend some time with you.” That line has remained with me since I first saw the movie, and has been an invitation to prayer. At times I can hear Jesus say those words to me. Other times I say those words to him.

My biggest prayer at that time was for God to tell me what to do. I wanted to be appointed for a mission by God, directly, so that my life would be guaranteed to be on the right track: I wanted to do God's will, whatever that meant.

We are about midway in the season of Lent. I believe Lent is an old English word meaning Spring. Is it time to refocus on what Lent leads to: new life? How much has been written about penance, sacrifice, fasting and conversion. All of this is, of course, good and helpful. I would like to focus these few words in another direction, the cross. For this I will offer some Franciscan sources as a way to achieve the goal of the primacy of the cross during this Lenten season.

During the season of Lent, we are consistently reminded of our need for humility. Not only are we encouraged to become more humble by the traditions of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we are strongly challenged to do so by the Gospel readings we hear as well. In Matthew 23, Jesus admonishes the scribes and Pharisees for being hypocrites that seek honors and titles.

I love Lent!!!!, I know this may sound strange and rather odd but I really do Love Lent. You may ask why? Simply put it is a time to Stop, Look and Listen to the wonders of the Season.

"Lent is spiritual spring training — we get the flab out, we get the sins out," said Cardinal Timothy Dolan in 2012 after the Ash Wednesday rite at St. Patrick's Cathedral. "Our fight is not against the Red Sox or the Cardinals; it's against Satan and sin and selfishness."

I first heard this phrase from my Novice Director, Susan, many years ago. At that time she challenged me to deal with a particularly difficult situation with a Sister that I lived with in community. Anyone who’s ever lived in community knows what a miracle it is! What I didn’t realize all those years ago, when Susan helped me to learn to “speak the truth in love,” is what a wonderful gift this concept would be all through my life.

During the Lenten season, we often go through a period of fasting. Fasting is essentially the act of abstaining from a certain act that we often participate in our daily lives and replacing it with applying ourselves more to building a relationship with God. Fasting can look different for each person; for example, one person might abstain from certain foods, drinks, meats, or sweets while another might reduce their social media presence. Moreover, we can choose to abstain from these activities during specific times based on our schedules.

During this 2024 Lenten Season, we have just completed a year of celebrating the 800th anniversary of the first creche at Greccio, we are in the midst of a Eucharistic Revival, and we are just beginning the 8th Centenary observance of the Stigmata of Saint Francis. These three commemorations parallel the traditional features of Franciscan devotional life - crib, cross and ciborium - Incarnation, Redemption and Divine Presence.

The biggest question I had, in preparing this reflection was “what, in my life, can I share that will mean something to someone?” I arrived at the same answer over and over again - a recent and startling realization. I have/had been carrying a grudge. The details of the grudge aren’t important. Suffice it to say that I had been wronged, even after “doing the right thing” and I wasn’t going to let it go.