Met. Kallistos Ware on "What is Lent"

We were blessed last night to attend a pre-Lenten talk in Seattle with guest speaker Met. Kallistos Ware. I've never heard him speak. He talked about Lent and I took notes. I thought I would write out my notes on here to share with all. I really enjoyed his talk and hope that I can take it to heart and use it to make this Lent a wonderful growing time.
Remember these are my notes. They weren't written in full sentences, or word for word. These are tidbits that grabbed my attention.

What is Lent really about?
"Lent" mean springtime and linked to "long and lengthening".

The Life-giving triad of Lent:
1. Fasting--
*it brings the body into the domain of the spiritual life
*it is spiritual as well as physical
*fast from not only food but from sin---all fleshly members of the body need to participate

2. Prayer
*goes hand and hand with fasting, cannot do one without the other

3. Action-Almsgiving-Acts of mercy, Love and Compassion

Story of a nun that helped the Jews hide in Europe and gave her life to save another. She was known to say "When we face judgment, we will not be asked how strictly we fasted, or how diligently we prayed but we WILL be asked if we fed the hungry or if we clothed the naked or gave to the poor."

All three of these are about personal relationships.
1. Relationship to self
2. Relationship to God
3. Relationship to others

Quoted and talked about the Gospel from Meatfare which I noted to self to reread.

Lent is the season of repentance.
Repentance is "reverse perspective", a different way to look at self and others.
Using the story of prodigal son we see three stages of repentance.
1st Stage:
Prodigal son comes to self.
*self-knowledge
*a great understanding
*waking up from a dream
*waking up from an illusion
*recentering
*seeing "where I am"

2nd Stage:
Prodigal son realizes he can go home.
*new hope
*true repentance is daughter of hope and denial of despair
*we must also forgive ourselves

3rd Stage:
Prodigal son went home.
*true repentance is doing something NOW..today...not yesterday, not tomorrow, today!

Confession
If you go regularly, during this Great Lent do so with extra special preparations. If not in the custom of going regularly..GO. We must prepare!
Share your thoughts and struggles with your father confessor. By holding them in, concealing them, they will only multiply.

I hope and pray that at least something out of this will grab your attention and you may be blessed by the words of Met. Kallistos Ware as I felt I was.

As we approach Great Lent I pray you all will grow in the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.