Lent A New Springtime
If you find the time of Lent to be one of heaviness and drudgery, this is the podcast for you! Fr. David and I discuss the beauty of new life that comes from eliminating the distractions and dissipation of life and allowing our hearts to be attracted to the Lord. Jesus, Himself went into the desert to be with His Father in prayer. Each year the Church gives us these 40 days to focus more intently and intentionally on our relationship with the Lord. While the Lenten obligations for Catholics are abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and the Fridays throughout Lent and fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, there is so much more available to us.
The three pillars of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These are components of the normal Christian life, and yet we focus through them on the Lord in a special way during this season. Why? The why is Love. We are all called to holiness, which is being loved by God, who is love, and being in love with Love. These three areas help us to quiet the competing noise in our life so we can hear the Lord’s call more clearly and follow Him more closely.
Through prayer, we take time away to speak and listen to Him. Try finding fresh ways to spend time with the Lord. Perhaps go for a walk with Him or clear out an area of your house and make it a sacred space with devotional materials, a journal, Scripture, and a blessed candle. Having a designated area for a designated purpose can help us focus and avoid distractions. Fasting from excesses of pleasure and noise can help us become more aware of the Lord as the satisfaction of our souls. We can focus on what we’re giving up, or we can ask the Lord to transform the hunger of our appetite into a hunger for Him. Through almsgiving, we extend to the Lord, ourselves, and others the same compassion Jesus shows us.
Lent is a beautiful time of new life. We are heading through these 40 days to the high Holy Days of the Triduum. We are heading to Calvary with the Lord, and He is with us in our own sufferings and deaths. Let’s embrace this great opportunity with joy and draw through it more closely to His Sacred Heart!
May the Lord give you peace!
Margaret Vasquez, LPCC-S, CTT, CITTI
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | iHeartRadio | Email | RSS
Speak Your Mind