THE VIEW FROM RIZAL

“So, you will be busy this Lent.”

This was the remark we heard from a friend who recently dropped by our office. He showed up to wish us well as we set to embark on another bid to ask for our constituent’s blessing and mandate for another term as their chief public servant. Our friend appeared worried that the next few weeks of the Lenten season would be exhausting for us.

We assured him that, on the contrary, we intend to observe the Lenten season the way we always have despite the coming of the official campaign season. We said that we do not have many activities lined up other than “listening.”

At this time, I plan to “just listen,” we told our friend.

The first would be to listen to those we are called to serve.

The second would be to “just listen” to the soft voice of the heart and the conscience.

By doing so, we hope to understand fully and in a deeper way the meaning of “Lent” and the meaning of “being lent.”

We were told that the word “Lent” as used by the Church was derived from the old English reference to Spring. This must have been because this 40-day period happens during that part of the year following winter and preceding summer as experienced in Western countries.

We can, therefore, look at this Church season as an invitation to rediscover one’s own “Spring.”

So, at this time, one may ask oneself: what is it in our life that needs a “Spring”?

Spring is a season associated with “fresh.” “Newness.” A “new beginning.”

A good Lenten reflection question, therefore, could be this: What are the things in our life that need to be made fresh? To be made new? To be given a new beginning?

In some Western countries, people do what is called “Spring cleaning.” It usually means clearing up a cluttered closet and throwing out things that are old and that are no longer useful.

This Lenten season, one may ask oneself: What are the areas of our life that need “de-cluttering”? What are the things I have needlessly amassed and which have now led to a crowding of our lives, leaving little or no space at all for the people and things that really matter?

Among those who truly matter are the people we are called to serve: Our family, and our community.

“Listening” is not easy. Authentic listening requires one to be patient and generous. It is a service. When one listens to constituents, that in itself is public service.

Perhaps, that is why authentic listening is also referred to as “lending” one’s ear. Our ears, it appears, are meant to be “lent.” To busy people like ourselves, our ears are among the most difficult to “lend.” We would rather “lend” our other resources than spend our “precious” time hearing what others have to say.

Consistent “lending” of our ears could lead to a “springtime” in our relationships, both in our lives and our service to our respective communities. It is also an act of generosity that could lead to our internal springtime.

The Bible says, “Anyone who is in Christ is a New Creation; the old has passed away, the new has come.” This is the promise of Lent: That one can be “re-created” and made fresh, that one can experience springtime in life.

“Lent” may also mean to be given something on a “borrowed” basis. So, this is the season for thinking of and being thankful for the many things in life that have been given to us on a “borrowed” basis. The things in life that have simply been “lent” to us.

Among them are our friends, family, loved ones. Our career, possessions, wealth.

Time is also just borrowed. Life itself has just been “lent” to us.

Last week, on Ash Wednesday, the season of Lent began with a reminder that Life has been given to us on a “borrowed” basis: “Remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

Lent would be a perfect time to reflect on one more reality: that we, too” have been “lent” to others. We have been “lent” to the people in our lives. Anything “lent” always serves as a reminder of the nature and character of the greatest “lender”: God, our creator.

I wish our readers a peaceful, serene, and meaningful observance of this season.

(The author is the mayor of Antipolo City, former Rizal governor, DENR assistant secretary and LLDA general manager. Email: [email protected])