by John Eagers

In every corner of the world, Christians embrace Lent as a season for almsgiving, fasting and praying, and through these Lenten acts, as a time for renewal.

Every year as we journey through Lent there are things which are familiar about the road we follow: readings heard at the celebration of Mass, praying of the Stations of the Cross, the resolutions we make. However, each Lent is unique because each year the context in which we make our journey is unique.

This year as we approach Lent, we might find it all too easy to drift towards a rather pessimistic world view, as we gaze upon the ongoing devastation wreaked on the people of Gaza with the loss of more than 25,00 lives, more than 100,000 people in a state of starvation and the incalculable destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and infrastructure. The war in Ukraine is still raging as it comes to the end of its second year and of course the consequences of global warming are never far from our consciousness.

Pope Francis, in Let us Dream, published in 2020 as we were coming to terms with the COVID pandemic, warns against pessimism, which he describes, along with narcissism and discouragement, as ‘the three disastrous ways of escaping reality that block growth and the action with reality and especially with the action of the Holy Spirit.’ So, this Lent, as we acknowledge our desire for renewal, we might look at overcoming any tendency within ourselves towards the sin of pessimism.

Narcissism can take us by surprise. As we look to the war in Ukraine, the continual devastation taking place in Gaza and other events taking place in different parts the world and within our nations, we might identify narcissistic behaviour in some of our politicians and world leaders. However, we might fail to recognise the same forms of behaviour within ourselves. I know they are there within me. My sisters are constantly pointing them out! They are present in our ‘want’ that the world and the people in our lives should cede to our views and our desires.

During the last couple of weeks I have spent my afternoons and the occasional evening, visiting my mother who is in hospital after fracturing her pelvis. At the age of 92, her recovery is slow and painful and during these weeks we have both experienced moments of anxiety and fear and I have experienced times of despondency and have felt discouraged.

John Eagers is a priest of the Diocese of Paisley.