Lent: A Time to Nurture the Soul

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Lent A Time to Nurture the Soul

• Mt. St. Mary Alumnae
• Evening of Reflection
• February 27, 2007

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Overview

• Check-in/Ice-Breaker
• Opening Prayer
• Content
• Probe our understanding of tonights PURPOSE
• Share some reflections about being WOMEN
• Provide some tools for Lenten Prayer
• CLOSING

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Lenten Journey

• A definite beginning point
• Mixture of paths, roadways, curves
• Challenges of various obstacles transitions
• Stopping for rest Intentional Choices
• ENDING point to only BEGIN AGAIN
• (Group Activity)

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A Time

• Biblical connotation
• Our purposes opportunity to BEGIN
• Not necessarily a specified period
• Intended to be ongoing
• Integration

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Nurture

• Awareness of emptiness, longing
• MAKE time to be in the PRESENT
• Assess WHAT IS
• Discern options
• Feed food for LIFE

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Soul

• Holy Space
• God-Life in our Humanity
• Language of VULNERABILITY and AUTHENTICITY
• Capacity for life, suffering, forgiveness
• Seed for intimacy, companionship
• (Group Activity)

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Vocation to be WOMEN

• Reference Gift from the Sea (Lindbergh)
• Question How do I create empty space?
• Woman must come of age by herself she must
  find her true center alone.

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Sabbath Keeping

• Sabbath Shabbat in Jewish thought
• Translation Gods time
• Donna Schaper, Minster for the United Church of
  Christ
• Sabbath is a way of living, not a thing to have
  or a list to complete.

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Sabbath Keeping (continued)

• Not meant to be prayers, deeds, activities we
  feel obligated to address
• Sacred time of leisurely meeting Our God
• Options simple quiet, prayer, reading,
  conversation, listening to music, recreational
  activity, etc.
• (Group Activity)

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Unique Possibilities

• Sabbath remembering
• Personal reflection of journey as woman, as
  daughter, as friend, as neighbor, as spouse, as
  parent
• Personal insights/learnings as member of various
  communities, as co-worker, as team player in
  various groups, as mentor, etc.
• (Group Activity)

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Unique Possibilities (continued)

• Sabbath de-cluttering What is lost? For what
  purpose?
• Mind, soul, heart of unnecessary concerns
• Daily routine of purposeless activity
• Control of others lives (spouse, children,
  friends, etc.)
• Unworn clothing, unused furniture, etc.
• (Group Activity)

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Helpful Tools for Lent

• Symptoms of Inner Peace (Maria Rosario Gaite,
  RSM Guam)
• A Different Kind of Fasting (Shirley Murphy, RSM
  Springfield)
• Suggestions for Developing a Wholistic
  Spirituality (Thomas Merton)

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Resolution Considerations

• What do I long for in my soul?
• How can I cultivate a spirit of Sabbath time in
  my life? What structures will need to be
  re-ordered?
• How can I make this Lent be a new beginning of
  the rest of my life?
• With whom can I share periodically to help call
  me to my intentions?

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Closing

• Thank YOU for enriching my life this evening
• Together, we have looked more deeply at Lent
  time nurturing soul
• We have truly prayed about our role as women
  blessings and challenges and,
• We have looked at some options for weaving these
  insights as we begin Lent.