“There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter,” Pope Francis writes in his 2013 encyclical Evangelii Gaudium (6). He’s pointing his finger at any so-called Christian who refuses to live a life of joy, who fails to see that Christ came so we “might have life and have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10).
I read this particular encyclical during my tenure at Catholic Relief Services working on the flagship Lenten program, CRS Rice Bowl (a program that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year!). Lent was literally my full-time job.
I remember reading those words with my team and laughing. As Lenten professionals, we seemed cursed to live our lives in the doldrums of Lent, never in the joy of Easter! We talked about prayer, fasting and almsgiving every day of every week of every year. Who had time to rejoice in the Resurrection?
There are many of us who work in the field of ministry, who approach these important liturgical seasons not solely out of prayerful piety, but as professionals whose job it is to accompany others spiritually. As a result, it’s easy to get burned out, to lose sight of the importance of the season, to muddle through as a professional while missing the relevance for the personal.
I find this image of the “professional” Catholic helpful. In part, I know, it’s because I am one. But it’s also because this image exaggerates what we all feel, what we’re all called to, no matter our jobs or vocations. This balancing act between the spiritual and the temporal is one we all struggle with as we try to bring fresh eyes to old traditions — whether Lent is literally your business or not.
That’s why, for this Lenten season, we’ve invited six “professional” Catholics to join our limited audio series “The Work of Lent” to reflect on how they keep the season fresh, how they inject new creativity into these 40 days and how they deal with burnout. Tasked as ever with finding God in all things, we will search for the ways in which God is speaking to us anew through this season of ancient rituals. Each episode will center on a Lenten theme, one which our guests will explore through an original Examen prayer, and include a deep dive into what it means to grapple with our vocations with joy.
Where can you find this new limited series? We’ll be dropping episodes every Friday of Lent on the “AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast” feed. So, head over there now and subscribe so you don’t miss a thing.
Lent begins next Wednesday. As always, it will be a balancing act, a chance to find God in the proverbial desert while also finding God in the grocery store, school pickup line and the daily commute. Let’s lean into this holy intersection of the sacred and secular. Let’s allow God to saturate our days with the Spirit’s invitation to deeper love, compassion and wonder. Let us not wait until Easter to practice the holy disposition of joy.
Let us prepare for the work of Lent.
