There is a monastic office known as Diurnum. The word is Latin for "daily" and is the second office of the organized times of prayer according to the traditional hours. When I was a monk, we would read Matins and celebrate the Mass at 8am, followed at noon by Diurnum, when we would spend from 30 to 45 minutes in intercessory prayer.
Like all words, it has traveled some. As Latin descended through the "romance languages", particularly that of French, the word diurnum merged with words from other languages to become sojourner, which literally means "under the day". By the time sojourner entered Middle English, it had become sojourn which, in its noun form, means a temporary stay in a place that is, if not new, at least different.
Since part of my Lenten discipline is to take steps to recover from the medical issues of last fall and the recent, daunting trip through the Pacific Rim and Sub-Continent, I've started walking several miles a day. Since this has been a mild winter, I have been able to avoid the gymnasium and breathe fresher air and abide in nature, a place that isn't enhanced by someone's idea of motivational music. This makes for a more spiritual experience.
It is not really perspicacious of me to note the role of travel in the New Testament, Jesus and company are in what appears to be perpetual motion, and as a metaphor for deliberate prayer. I recall when I was training for a triathlon seven years ago that I would cease being actively conscious while in the middle of a long run or swim in a manner that was all but identical to what happens in prayerful meditation. As I'm slower now, and with less interest in triathlons, I still note the same experience while on a deliberate walk.
So, my metaphor for Lent is that of sojourn. This season, I'm going to travel towards and reside in a place founded on scripture, illuminated by thoughtfulness, and made solid by intention.
In the past several Lenten seasons, I have posted photos of waves with an inspirational text. This year, I'm posting prayers and observations that remind us that intercession, mindfulness, and physical being enable us to walk in beauty, reconciled with God and with a sure and certain hope that we will reach our journey's end in safety.