Just as the water of the streams we see is small in amount compared to that which flows underground, so the idealism which becomes visible is small in amount compared with what men and women bear locked in their hearts. – Albert Schweitzer
You probably are asking what does Albert Schweitzer have to do with Shrove Tuesday and Lent. I should be telling you about Suzy’s pancakes and the new waffle iron that has to go in the pantry for the next forty days. But I came across the above quote from Schweitzer and thought to myself what a great statement about Lent and what each of us should hope to accomplish during Lent – Bring the underground waters of our heart to the surface.
Change begins from the heart, love emanates from the heart, justice comes from the heart, and during Lent we peel away the layers that surround and hold prisoner our heart. Prayer, meditation, and fasting unlock the heart and allow its refreshing waters to come to our surface. Currently our hearts are being suffocated by popular culture and a propaganda system that tells us and makes us feel that we are helpless and that the only role we have in the world is to ratify the popular and consume. Our Lenten discipline loosens that hold on our heart, unbinds what is bound, and brings the magic waters our heart holds to the surface and out into the world.
I tell you welcome Lent with all your heart, body, and mind. Free your heart out into the world through prayer, meditation, fasting, and my favorite doing something new and positive. Whatever you take on, whether it’s as grand as world peace or eliminating world hunger, or its no more than the setting of a table, tending of a garden, or showing a child a path in the wood, our lives and the world is richer. There is no telling who or how many soul’s thirst the underground waters of your heart will quench.
Now as Lent is upon you, Go in Peace and serve the Lord.
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