Catholic Trends
March Catholic Trends

The last day of February 2001 is Ash Wednesday. Lent is a special time of the year in the Christian community. The term, Lent, comes from an ancient Anglo Saxon word, lencten, meaning springtime. As the daylight gradually lengthens and the earth slowly warms up, we begin to think seeds and new life, movement and growth.

Springtime is also a time of work. There is no harvest without planning, tilling and planting. So too, there can be no Lent without the hard work of authentic conversion-a sincere commitment to prayer, fasting and almsgiving, the three disciplines of the spiritual life. In Lent we are called to a renewal and a strengthening of these disciplines.

Pray. An old saying from one of the saints is apt, "Work as if everything depended on you. Pray as if everything depended on God." And another: "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of." Jesus reminds us, "Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened to you." Many of us struggle to take time to pray. To be actually interested in God while we pray becomes another struggle. It takes discipline. That's why Lent is a good time to renew this effort and to entrust all that concerns us into the hands of the God who made us and cares about us more than we can imagine.

Fast. Fast from all lamenting about how bad things are in farming. We know about the poor prices, the over-production, the false promises of free trade, the mono-cropping, the control of corporations and so called farmer cooperatives, the pollution, the inroads of factory farming. "They" are making life impossible for us. When lamenting is not accompanied by creative action, hopelessness results. So, Fast from repeating these laments to friends and neighbors. Above all, Fast from lamenting at your farm organization meetings. It's contagious! It becomes the excuse for doing nothing.

Give Alms. We are familiar with giving food, clothing or money to the poor as giving alms. This kind of giving is easier than giving our time to another. Giving alms is an expression of penance. Take time to find out what a neighbor or an area farmer is changing to make a "go" of things. You may give new courage to that person. You also may find out the person knows more than you about something, a humbling exercise. Take the time to collaborate with others so that you become a part of the solution with them. Become a member of an organization like the Land Stewardship Project whose mission is to bring about workable and long-term change in farming. Read its newsletter.

Demand that your farm organization be actively involved in developing farm policy that really helps farmers and not big corporations or farm cooperatives that have become big corporations. Plan to plant a garden, and experience first hand the special taste of homegrown vegetables. Buy local foods. Support farmers who sell their produce, their meats, their cheese and eggs directly to the consumer. That keeps the money in the community. Ask them how they do it, what regulations they have to meet. Support local processors. That also keeps the money in the community. Ask them what rules they have to follow. How do they do it?

Taking such actions means giving time to a neighbor or to an activity that will benefit others. It requires the discipline of reading and study, of going against a natural hesitancy or fear of getting involved. The giving of oneself can be more penitential than the giving of things. Try this kind of almsgiving.

Earth Almanac is produced by the SSND Center for Earth Spirituality and Rural Ministry, Mankato, MN.