– kaka Lucas, 27th Feb 2022

Fr Brown was assigned to water a plant, and this went on for weeks. He loved his assignment. He did it faithfully, intentionally and with a lot of devotion. He was actually very proud of himself, for the flower looked green and in good health and was blooming. I believe if it was in his parish, he would have called the whole community to see it, or it would have been on his WhatsApp status.

It was not too long after being on his cloud nine experience that one of his retreat directors told him that the plant he was fascinated with was a metallic plant, actually, a metal plant stuck in a dry log. Just imagine his facial expression! yes it was dead; a dead plant that was put there to play a part in the formation of the human heart and mind. There have been times in our lives that we have watered dead plants and prided ourselves on a job well done.

Lent is here, and it is a season that reminds us to spring up. Yes! Lent can be compared to spring time, according to Fr Bill, my good spiritual father and friend. Springtime is when flowers bloom and trees begin to grow and reproduce.

Note these words that are said of springtime regarding flowers and trees

– Bloom

– Grow

– Reproduce

Do you know the word “Lent” comes from an Old English word “lencten” which means, “spring”. Therefore it will not be wrong to say that Lent for us is springtime.

Lent is a period, as its definition states, a time to bloom, grow and reproduce. That means you are not dead as it seems. You can bloom again, you can grow back and yes, you can be productive. It is a season in which we are called to melt, get warm and flourish spiritually.

We all have those habits in our lives that are hard to break from; habits that have separated us from God. These habits need to be melted down in the course of 40 days. Like you, my heart is cold when it comes to certain virtues, and it is high time Jesus warms me with his love. A love that will lead us to spend more time with Him:                            

In prayer,

With others,

Giving arms,

Fasting from things that indulge our senses.

It is a season to make our relationship with God fill the empty spaces of our lives.

This is a beautiful time to spring back to our spiritual lives, time for self renewal, time to say yes! Bring those good vibes back, for the glory of God.

Happy 2022 Lent