Sabrina M. Chiefari is a Catholic Environmental Educator from Tkaronto/Toronto. As Integral Ecology Specialist for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, she is a long-time proponent of Deep Ecology and Integral Ecology.

“Lent is the time of renewal and repentance, a time for change. Is it the time to have a wrong image of yourself? You are the image of God and if you have a poor image of yourself, then you desecrate his image. That is not how one wants to walk through Lent.” – Servant of God Catherine Doherty

…love through prayer

A dear Cameroonian friend once referred to Lent as a dreaded “spiritual dry season” and, just like a meteorological dry season, it is natural.

The Lenten season invites us to reconnect with beautiful prayers, relying on traditional rhythms as a road map through the desert; the Rosary, Way of the Cross, Chaplets, Adoration, Praise & Worship, and so much more.

Recalling that “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor are one”, I invite you to consider the prayers compiled in the Laudato Si’ Movement Prayer Book this Lent. It’s one of many prayerful resources that can help us wrestle with today’s heart wrenching realities.

If you feel like taking on a daily Lenten practice, check out Lent 2024: Refresh here.

…love through fasting

One of the more common ways to observe fasting during Lent

is on our plates; we “give up” sweets, caffeine and/or alcohol or, perhaps, we “take on” better habits, like drinking more water or eating more fresh food.

And while we abstain from meat each Friday during Lent, we also know that cutting back on our consumption of meats and highly processed foods helps the Earth as much as our individual bodies. Have a look at some of these  Lenten Recipes from CRS Rice Bowl for plenty of meatless meal ideas.

…love through almsgiving

Earlier in this issue, we highlighted the  Open Work Permit Campaign. The dignity, rights, and overall well-being of those who work closest with the Earth are just as real an issue here in Canada as they are anywhere else in the world.

This year, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto and the CSJ Ministry for Social Justice will be utilizing Development & Peace’s Share Lent 2024 Campaign: Create Hope – Reaping our rights.

Wherever you choose to give alms, consider Pope Benedict’s statement:

“Almsgiving teaches us the generosity of love.” – Message of His Holiness Benedict for Lent 2008

No matter how you feel drawn to do it, observing the quiet, reflective, penitential liturgical season of Lent always becomes about 40 Days of Love.

Lent starts on Ash Wednesday which, this year, falls on St. Valentine’s Day.