PEACE in P-E-N-A-N-C-E and My Raw Lenten Journey
There is PEACE in P-E-N-A-N-C-E . (Can you find it?) It is so easy for me personally, to find true peace in penance because I trust that God's mercy abounds. It is during this time that we prepare to renew our baptismal vows through penance and reconciliation. This is a time to enter into the healing spirit of this season and restore relationships with our household, neighbors and most importantly, God. It can also be a time to heal the body with raw living, life giving foods. When I think of this time of year not only do I think of fasting, abstinence and penance but I think of reconciliation and NEW LIFE. The word "lent" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for springtime, lencten. The importance of the integrity of life and the preciousness of life. Life represented in new growth and life being protected from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. And life as seen in the planting, sprouting and growing of life giving plants, nuts and seeds. I...