Jesus
I will . . .
- Be ever mindful of God’s love for me, and rejoice in it! I refuse to lose sight of how much God loves me, even with my sins and shortcomings in the bargain. I choose to let His love define my days.
- Gently, gradually reveal to my flesh that I can live without material things–but I cannot live without God. I will do this out of a spirit of joy, instead of a spirit of self-satisfaction and pride that hey, I’m making sacrifices for Lent. And as I sacrifice, I will thank God for His never-failing love and remind myself of how, consciously and unconsciously, my entire life relies on Him, and not on things.
- Keep my eyes wide open for what God is telling me I should be doing during Lent – instead of growing fixated over what I think is best for me to be doing. His ways aren’t my ways, after all, so I won’t let this holy season become watered down into a pride issue or a checklist to be accomplished; rather, I’ll let it be a patient time of listening and growth.
- Introduce time for spiritual reading every day. It doesn’t have to be an epic dive into difficult theology; reading a short biography of a different saint each day (such as from The Times Book of Saints by Bert Ghezzi) along with a short section of one of the Gospels, is a wonderful way to welcome the Holy Spirit into my heart.
- Go outside more and witness how God has revealed His gift of new life through his marvelous creation.
- Pray with joy . . . and pray more. Everything can be a prayer if offered to God with joy. Lent is the perfect time to “pray without ceasing.” I will listen to spiritually uplifting music that makes me ponder and rejoice in my Catholic faith.
- At the advice of Mother Teresa, frequently place myself in the presence of God, asking and allowing Him to love me . . . especially when I feel tired and discouraged.
- Look without prejudice into the eyes of my family and friends, and stop long enough to see Christ looking back at me.
- View Lent not as a difficult desert to pass through quickly so I can arrive at the lush fields of Easter–but rather, as a desert that will blossom into roses . . . a desert I will never want to leave.
- Spend this season learning to count the days to Heaven, and not only to mere life-changing events. “My soul is athirst for the living God: when shall I go and behold the face of God?”
Thank you, Mary-Faustina, for these wonderful Lenten suggesetions that seem modelled after St. Therese’s “Little Way” in their simple power. I particularly like the concept of traveling through a desert with roses that we want to relish.
Also, the idea of counting our days to eternity reminds me of a beautiful hymn translated from Latin called “Aeternitas”, which reflects on the concept that we can begin our Eternity with God on Earth: “I was longing full of desire/More than life, to be with God/I was sinking into fire/More than death, to live with God/Eternity is Now, always we are together/Ever now, alone, all One/Under the moments, crossing time/Ever now, Eternity is Now.”
Now that it is Good Friday, we have reached the summit of our Lenten Journey on Calvary, when all the things we have learned will be remembered and embraced in their fullness, in the expectation of Easter.
Thank you, Rosaria Marie! I definitely think St. Therese’s spirituality is a healthy and encouraging one to employ during Lent . . . we’re not asked to change our whole lives and eradicate all our vices in one stretch of forty days–a daunting, and impossible, task indeed! Rather, we’re asked to turn away from sin and return to the Lord, especially in small, everyday things. I think focusing on small things throughout the holy season, and allowing the Holy Spirit to “change things up” in your Lenten resolutions if necessary, helps to prevent discouragement!
In the words of St. Francis de Sales: “Do everything calmly and peacefully. Do as much as you can as well as you can. Strive to see God in all things without exception, and consent to His will joyously. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to him in word and deed. Walk very simply with the Cross of the Lord and be at peace with yourself.”
Thanks so much for commenting!