As some of you know, Baxter is my cat. We have been together for ten years, and although I provide food and shelter, Baxter owns the space and demands service. Cats are that way, you know.
Three things drive Baxter’s life: food, sleep and curiosity. Food is first. He is a big boy, and all the diet kibble in limited quantities I force upon him does not seem to have much effect upon his weight. Baxter loves to eat. Anytime, anywhere he is ready for a snack, or better, a full meal. He sometimes tries to deceive me into thinking I didn’t feed him, so that he can get a second round. (I’ve caught on to his tricks!) I have lectured him on acting more like a dog with an indiscriminate appetite rather than a finicky cat, but he does not heed my advice. Baxter just loves to eat!
He also loves to sleep. He has many bedrooms throughout the house, and he can find a relaxed posture in many different contortions — on his back, on his side, curled in a ball, with a paw over his eyes, or paws under his body in a lotus position. Baxter doesn’t just sleep to regain his energy. He loves to sleep. He enters into it fully, and cannot be disturbed when he is deep into it. The only thing that can arouse him from a serious nap is, of course, food. Otherwise, when he is sleeping, the world can pass Baxter by, and he has no regrets about missing anything.
Finally, Baxter is a curious cat. He hates closed doors. He has to know what’s behind them, even if it’s only a closet or the garage. He perks up at strange sounds, ears up and tail moving excitedly. He is mesmerized by birds at the window, and won’t let them out of his sight. He goes on high alert when he hears or sees something new on the horizon, and there is often no distracting his attention — not even with food. Baxter’s curiosity has gotten him into trouble at times. He has been trapped in closets for hours, been freezing in the garage because I forgot he was there, and he jumped off a 15 foot deck once over his excitement at the birds — he qualified for the Olympics with that one.
Why am I telling all of these things about my cat, Baxter? Because his antics have something to teach us about Lent. Fasting isn’t about hating food, but learning to appreciate it more as God’s gift to savor and relish. We eat less to taste more of the goodness that God offers us in creation. Lent is a time to slow down, rest in the Lord, gain confidence that God saves the world. We don’t. A sleeping cat exudes peace, and Lent is about finding peace with and among ourselves through God’s healing and reconciliation. Lastly, Lent is meant to spur our curiosity about God and God’s ways in our world. It is a time to reflect a little more deeply about the movements of the Spirit in our lives, and to understand more thoroughly our Tradition of the Catholic Christian faith. What’s behind the doors to the sacred we call the sacraments? From a faith perspective, what should we be alert to in the sights and sounds of our times? How do we capture a renewed excitement about our faith that will free us to jump into new efforts at sharing it?
A blessed Lent to us all from Baxter and his housemate.
