In the latest March edition of the Catholic Herald magazine, we are reminded by Dom Henry Wansbrough that, properly observed, the Lenten season is meant to be joyful.
“St Benedict’s Rule twice mentions the joy of the Holy Spirit, once by making an offering to God ‘with the joy of the Holy Spirit’ and once by waiting for Easter ‘in the joy of holy desire’,” he observes.
That is a salutary reminder of the nature of Lenten observances: they should be practical as well as uplifting.
Avoiding idle chatter is quite a big resolution for some of us, but it is practical. So too were the old prescriptions for the season: eschewing meat, dairy products and eggs, as Orthodox Christians still do. These were hard resolutions, but they were communal – so people shared their privations with their neighbours – and they were simple. There is much to be said for that.
