Introduction
Lent is a time of special time of grace in the Christian church when we are invited to enter the depths of our own hearts and discover God anew.
We are invited to deepen our relationship with Jesus through the scriptures and to reflect on the living out of our lives in the light of God’s word. We are reminded that if ‘continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.’ (John 8:31) We are invited to return to God with all our hearts (Joel 2:12), to repent, be converted and healed of all that is not right in our relationship with God and others. We will come to know that the ‘Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in merciful love.’ (Psalm 103:8) We are invited to face our demons and our fears, to recognise ourselves in truth, take ownership of how I am and resolve to do something about it. Lent is not a time to beat ourselves up but a graced opportunity to deepen an honest, mature relationship with the living God. It is a time to deepen our trust in God; fast, grow in prayer and deepen our service of those in need.
We are offered opportunities to lean on Him and learn from Him who is meek and humble of heart. (Matthew 11:29) We are invited to live the Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 1-12) and to be guided by them in our daily living. We deepen our commitment to living the commandments through our prayer, fasting and alms-giving, remembering those who are less fortunate than ourselves rather than giving into not the desires and allures of the world. Lent is a time to listen to the words, ‘who do you say that I am’ (Mark 8: 29) and to allow the spirit of God to reveal the person of Jesus to us at the deepest level of our being. It is a time not to be afraid but to be filled with the utter fullness of God.
On Holy Thursday night we give thanks for the institution of the Eucharist and promise to celebrate this most beautiful, living giving sacrament in our lives. We learn from Jesus who washed the feet of his disciples (John 13: 5) and we promise to care for all entrusted to our care with compassion and love.
During the culmination of lent we reflect on the salvation journey of Jesus to the cross and its redemptive power in our lives.
We deepen our love of God who stretched out His hands in love on the cross and now holds our lives in these same, resurrected, glorified hands. (John 20:9) Lent is a special time to give thanks for all the people who have helped us on our faith journey through life and to pray for these messengers of the Gospel each day. We rejoice with them and all God’s people on Easter Sunday when Christ has overcome the power of death and reigns in glorious majesty forever.
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