A Call to Awareness and Accompaniment

In the rhythm of a busy semester, Lent arrives as a deliberate "pause." While this season has deep liturgical roots, its invitation is universal: it asks us to slow down, look inward, and—most importantly—look at one another with fresh eyes.

Here at Boston College, we are often encouraged to ask three fundamental questions: What am I good at? What brings me joy? and What does the world need me to be? These aren't just career-planning tools; they’re a compass for the soul. In these complex and often fractured times, these questions take on a new urgency. They challenge us to ask: Are we willing to meet the moment?

Meeting the moment doesn’t always require a grand gesture. More often, it looks like "showing up" in the small, quiet spaces between our obligations. It’s the decision to offer a warm smile despite the frigid temperatures, or the courage to ask a colleague, "How are you, really?"—and then staying long enough to truly listen to the answer.

In John 12, there is a simple image often shared during this season: the grain of wheat. The idea is that for a seed to grow and sustain others, it must first let go of its outer shell. It has to "break open" to become something more.

Regardless of our individual beliefs, we all experience these "breaking open" moments. We find them when we choose to forgive someone who wronged us, when we seek out a person we’ve misunderstood, or when we simply take a moment to express gratitude to someone who usually goes unnoticed.

As we approach the end of this season, I invite you, as I continuously challenge myself, to look for those small "openings." How can we shed our busyness to make room for care? How can we accompany one another across our differences? By choosing to see the little things—the joys, the hopes, and our shared humanity—we don’t just survive these uncertain times; we help each other flourish within them. 

Jabril Robinson is the Associate Director of Programming and Educational Initiatives, through the Office of the Vice President for Human Resources at Boston College. In this capacity, he leads the design, facilitation and management, and evaluation processes for various workshops, speaker series, learning and development exercises, and other programmatic efforts that foster inclusive excellence and a sense of belonging and mattering for the BC campus community. Jabril graduated with a Bachelor of Psychology from Bridgewater State University, and a Masters in College Student Development and Counseling from Northeastern University.

Learn more about C21 Living Lent here.