ANOTHER DEATH IN LENT- 2012

At this time last year I wrote of the death of my brother Jeff. Just as we celebrate his one year passing to the Father, we bury our elder Mother Martina. She would have been 90 in September.

Mother  entered religious life later in life, having raised three children. For years she was house mother to a men's ag fraternity at U of Arizona.  Her “boys” were often in touch with her even after  they started families of their own. Mother will always be remembered by her cheerful demeanor and graciousness. She had a deep love of  Our Lady who we are sure got us through the day. Rain was expected but at Communion we had full sun which remained throughout the burial.

Neighbors came to help lower the coffin, and all the community and guests added their symbolic shovels full of dirt to the grave.

In his homily at the funeral Mass Father spoke of Lazarus and the suffering of his sisters Martha and Mary, not to mention Christ's own grief.  The raising of Lazarus from the dead is Christ's way of saying, “I am the resurrection, do you believe this?”
This time of Lent is a "rehearsal" for our own death. The focus of this time is on renewing our lives in  the service of the Lord- of becoming more like Jesus. All the small  sacrifices we make during this time are but symbols of what is meant to be happening inside each of us during Lent, that is dying to our old way of life and rising to new life with Jesus.

Lent, from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “springtime”  is the  springtime of  our soul, a time for preparation, planting, and growth. Lent is not so much a journey of so many weeks as it is a  pilgrimage, for all of us who are baptized into Christ.  A time to journey together with Christ to the cross where our sins are put to death, and then to the empty tomb, where we are given new life in the risen Christ who is our Hope.

As we buried Mother Martina next to my brother we rejoiced with her in her new life in Christ, who is the Resurrection and the Life for all who believe and hope in Him.

On February 10, the feast of St. Scholastica, twin to St. Benedict and foundress of our Order, our Mother Prioress Therese celebrated 50 years of vows.  It was a quiet but very happy celebration for us. (this in another blog)