Why you shouldn’t try to grow spiritually this Lent

In comparing spiritual growth to economic growth, George Pitcher comes to an unexpected conclusion

What to do about Lent? It’s a question that preoccupies parish priests and not a few of their congregants as we approach the last Sunday before next week’s Ash Wednesday, when the penitential season begins with the sombre liturgical reminder that “you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

It’s become a commonplace to say that Lent shouldn’t just be about fasting, giving up chocolate or booze for the 40 days (with formal breaks from the fast for Sundays). It should be about doing more that’s worthwhile – like reading scripture or theology, learning a new way of meditating, working at a food bank. Lent, it is said, is about finding time to be spiritual and, in doing so, closer to God.

On this model, it’s about spiritual growth. That’s true. But it’s so true that it’s a truism. And another word for a truism is a platitude. There’s a danger of ticking the spiritual growth box in Lent in the same way as we might join a gym in January. The intent is sound, but it doesn’t do us any good in the long run.