March 10, the coming of Spring

“In the late Middle Ages, as sermons began to be given in the vernacular instead of Latin, the English word lent was adopted. This word initially simply meant spring (as in the German language Lenz and Dutch lente) and derives from the Germanic root for long because in the spring the days visibly lengthen.”   Wikipedia

The English spoken in the United States is inherited from England, a blend of Anglo-Saxon (German roots) and French (from the Norman Conquest).  Our  word “Lent” comes from German/Anglo-Saxon roots, an inheritance from northern Europe  (Wikipedia could tell of other names in other climates for this season of 40 days leading to Easter).

In our climate, you might say that “Spring” means the season when trees and shrubs and flowers and grass look dead and very gradually tell the careful observer that they are coming back to life.  Very gradually.  For some years I’ve followed a ritual to remind myself about how slowly this happens:  I look for a large shrub or a low-hanging tree branch somewhere along a pathway I frequently walk.  I stop nearby, close enough that I can look at one twig on one branch from a distance of 6 to 8 inches and look at the twig for half a minute or so, paying attention to signs of rebirth.   I try to remember to stop there 3-4 times a week.   From day to day not much new appears.  Very gradual. Little by little this attention is rewarded by delicate hints of rebirth.

Stopping and looking is a form of Lenten prayer and helps more than giving up candy or beer, a metaphor for close watching other parts of life and waiting there in hope: a  child growing up;  a city laboring through bankruptcy; a Congress waiting to learn civility again.  A university teeming with people trying to learn, trying to teach, trying to renew it’s day to day operations.  Beauty all around us

The growing length of daylight during this year’s Lent comes to about 3 minutes more light each day.

March 5           Ash Wednesday          11 hours & 28 minutes of daylight                                   April 11           Holy Saturday             13 hours & 27 minutes of day light

Have a good day.

john sj

p.s.       Yesterday Weather.com put out a list of the “10 Cities Where This Winter is a Top 5 Snowiest.”

Detroit definitely made the list:

Snow this season                                   83.8 inches
Ranking:                                                 2nd snowiest season in history
All-Time record snowiest winter        93.6 inches in winter of 1880-81
Heaviest snowstorm this winter         12.3  inches  Dec 31 to January 2 (Storm Hercules)

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