Getting on our knees

Lent is marked by a time of prayer and preparation to celebrate Easter.

Since Sundays celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the six Sundays that occur during Lent are not counted as part of the 40 days of Lent, and are refered to as the Sundays in Lent. This I did not know until I started actually questioning what Lent really is.

The number 40 is connected with many biblical events, but especially with the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness, I think I knew that one.

Lent has traditionally been marked by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. By the way, what exactly is almsgiving? To be honest I had not even heard that term until I was sitting in a Catholic baptism this last Sunday. For some reason I couldn't let this term go undefined. According to the Crossmap Dictionay: "Alms" is anything given gratuitously to relieve the poor, as money food, or clothing, otherwise called charity.

God uses all sorts of ways to get our attention, to speak to us, and to teach us - we need to listen.

To put it in simple terms (because I usual need the simple version) Lent is the preparation to celebrate God's wonderful redemption at Easter, and the resurrected life that we live, and hope for as Christians.

In her blog Jumping Tandem, Dee asks the question, "So much space between me and the holy. The sacred. How did that happen?" How does that happen I ask? Part of itis the enemy and the busy life we think we must lead - but that's just my opion.

Dee reminds us of the spirtual disciplines - Inward, Outward, and Corporate, holy experiences, and sacred pathways. Folks, it's time to unplug, yes enven from blogging for a while, to shut off the cells phones and Ipods, the television, and other distractions in our lives. It's time to get on our knees and give thanks to The Holy One, the one who offers grace and forgiveness when we don't derserve it. The one who gave his only Son so that we may have eternal life. To the one who made the ultimate sacrifice.

It's time we stop making excuses and narrow that gap between ourself and the holy, the sacred and it all starts with getting on our knees.