Lenten season is upon us and since Babcia is a Catholic (like 90% of Poland) she is practicing Lent. For her this means extra prayer and reflection, along with no meat on Friday. Babcia has done this for as long as I can remember, her entire life. The Catholic tradition holds great meaning for her and she is a devout prayer warrior. Babica prays for everyone. You can rest assured that if you have ever held a place of importance in any of our lives, Babcia is praying for you. She prays for people I don’t even have contact with any longer. Her list grows constantly and she has all the names memorized, repeating them daily in her prayers.

Lent brings to mind thoughts of Ash Wednesday, Fat Tuesday, prayer, and fasting. Many of us try to give something up for Lent in order to clear our hearts and minds and to focus on more important things. In Poland there is deeper meaning to this season. Polish Lent involves a total cleansing of spirit. For 40 days, Polish Catholics put aside all gluttony and focus on spiritual practices. Before Lent (Wielki Post in Polish) can begin though, the home has to be cleared of rich, fat foods as they are not allowed during the time of fasting. This is where Polish Fat Thursday comes in, the last day before Lent begins. A long time ago Lent was more stringent. All fatty foods, sweets, butter, etc. had to be removed from the home before Lent. As an alternative to throwing these foods away, they were used to make feasts and sweets on Fat Thursday. Everything could then be eaten and used rather than wasted. This is the origin of the beloved Polish paczki, or donut. Since fatty meats were also not allowed, fish became a staple of Lent as well. This denial of excess was not meant to incur sadness, but rather to cleanse the body and mind in order to contemplate the suffering of Christ and to commune and focus on the goodness of Christ rather than on the excess of the world. It was kind of a “spring cleaning” of the spirit, and in fact, the word Lent comes from the old English for spring.

Catholic or not, we all tend to get wrapped up in our daily lives and to-do lists. We are all subject to occasions of gluttony in one form or another. Lent is a time to focus on things bigger than ourselves and to create peace within ourselves. It is a time to connect with our higher power and to find real meaning in this place. For some that means fasting, church, prayer, and for some that may mean refocus and contemplation and new beginnings. It is good now and then to cleanse our lives of the peripheral and see the roots, the base of it all. It helps us to stay on track and to remember what is truly important.

For Lent, Babcia will pray more than usual and not eat meat on Fridays. She was raised these traditions and they are a part of her now. If you are lucky enough to make her prayer list, consider yourself blessed. Her heart knows no boundaries when it comes to prayer. If you want to be on the list, you only need ask and she will add you, it’s not an elite club. Heaven knows we all could use someone praying for us now and then.