A Lenten Greeting from Norcia

The Lenten Ember Days mark a moment of intensified recollection within the great fast of Lent. The temptation -- especially for monks -- is to try to quantify that “focus,” as though Lent were another Olympic contest and perhaps, with sufficient effort, we might advance from bronze to gold. St. Benedict’s quiet reminder that a monk’s whole life is meant to be a continuous Lent steadies us. It tempers the competitive instinct. After all, a man would quickly collapse if he imagined himself running a lifelong spiritual marathon. The essence of the spiritual life is always Quaerere Deum -- to seek God. The Ember Days, and Lent as a whole, invite us to seek Him more intentionally, which is to say: to let Him seek us.

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