Letting Go and Living in the Hope of EasterBrief Description: Many of the spiritual practices of Lent – fasting, doing penance, giving alms, prayer, and others – help us focus our attention on our relationship to God and the priorities in our lives.
Directions: Gather as a community, and first reflect individually on the following thoughts.
“…you will see that there is one thing and only one thing that causes unhappiness. The name of that thing is Attachment. What is an attachment? An emotional state of clinging caused by the belief that without some particular thing or some person you cannot be happy… an attachment by its very nature makes you vulnerable to emotional turmoil and is always threatening to shatter your peace.”
- Anthony de Mello, SJ, The Way to Love
De Mello goes on to describe the way to drop attachments and the benefits of not being attached to things or people. He says,
“If you just enjoy things, refusing to let yourself be attached to them, that is, refusing to hold the false belief that you will not be happy without them, you are spared all the struggle and emotional strain of protecting them and guarding them for yourself.”
De Mello encourages us to simply enjoy people and things, rather than forming co-dependencies with them. He also suggests that by limiting ourselves through attachments to a few things, we are prevented “from developing a wider and more varied taste for things and people.”
Ask yourself:
Since beginning your volunteer service, have there been any attachments (people or things) that you’ve given up, or that now have diminished importance? If so, what are they? Why do these attachments now have less significance in your life?
With Easter comes new life in Christ. What are some of the newer priorities in your life?
What hopes do you have for the remainder of your volunteer service?
If you feel comfortable sharing your insights, do so, and then move on to examining your priorities as a community.
As a community, ask:
Since beginning your time as a community, have there been attachments that you have collectively given up? If so, what are they? Consider household arrangements, food preferences, and other common concerns. What has your community gained from losing some of these attachments?
As you look forward to Easter, are there any new priorities your community wants to set for itself? What efforts will each community member contribute to keeping these priorities?
As St. Augustine wrote, “We are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.” Among the many blessings of our lives is the ability to live in hope and to reevaluate our priorities and relationships. Use this season to consider how far you’ve come, what you’ve learned, and the numerous possibilities that are yet to come in your volunteer service.