All my strength lies in prayer and sacrifice. They are my invincible weapons, and I know, by experience, that they can soften the heart much better than words. -- St Therese of Lisieux
Transformation--the word I think of when Lent comes around. I think it is easy to initially think of the word suffering or just plain uncomfortable. Most of the time I give up something I don't want to, or add something that will better me as a person for 40 days and that is uncomfortable and inconvenient to the life I normally lead.
Why Transformation? Because i know that every hard time I ever went through a hard time, or every time I had to give something up, something in me changed. Something in me became new again. Something in me died and Christ could rise in me after 40 days---that something was my will.
When we begin Lent we start on Ash Wednesday. This day we receive the ashes on our forehead and the following phrase is spoken to us, "Remember that you are dust and from dust you shall return." Translation--remember you came from dust and you shall then return to dust when you die! Woah, those are heavy words that almost seem to lack encouragement to start a great fast. I always think, it is hard enough that I am doing this, let alone hearing the words of remember that this life is fleeting--and that what you are giving up is nothing compared to the love of God--so get ready!
Now don't get my wrong I believe that what I decide to give up for lent is nothing in comparison to the love of Christ, but I may or may not know that Love yet, and having that lack of knowledge in my heart makes the sacrifice harder. When we sacrifice for love, somehow the burden lightens! When we do a sacrifice with Love--our love for the beloved changes and grows stronger. We are united with the one we sacrifice for more fully! As St Therese states: Without Love, everything is painful, everything is tiring, everything is burdensome. The Cross, taken up hesitantly, is crushing; taken up smilingly, by free will, and with love, it will carry you more then you carry it. Love makes time eternal by giving a divine value to everything.
When we die to ourselves, no matter what we die for, it hurts and it is hard. You know I think God means something even more when we read these words of Remember you are dust and from dust you shall return--I think it says--remember you are nothing without me, and you are everything with me. In other words--yes this is a hard and trying 40 days but I am here to carry you, comfort you and share with you the pain in which you are enduring until you return to the dust you came from.
Another thing to remember is that we are always not called to give something up, but to add things to our lives. For me it really does not matter whether I am adding or taking away anything from my life--I am asking God to change me from the inside out and that my friends, can be painful. Why? Because we are asking God to change a part of us that we are use to living with, or change something within us that has helped us get what we have wanted but not necessarily what we needed to grow.
The key is make a commitment to God and yourself and try. That is all we can do and I believe that that is all God is calling us too...progress not perfection. Rome was not built in a day and years of habits and possibly destructive behaviors cannot always be changed overnight.
A wise priest told me recently: We do not need to be surprised that weakness is weak. That spoke volumes to me. It really reminded to me that all my efforts, great and small are helping me decrease so that he may increase. I believe that Our Lord is calling us to a sincere and genuine relationship with him. A relationship where we are real about who we are, and our own limitations. He has no limits--he is all mercy--all love and nothing is impossible with Him. The most beautiful prayer sometimes is as simple as "Help me Lord!"
One of the great things about Lent is that we are all involved as a body--the Church. We are all walking this road of fasting and prayer. Lean on one another and never believe the lie that you are walking alone or that if you mess up your fast you're a bad person-- both ruses that the devil uses to get us to quit. When you fall, get up again. Call upon the Lord and watch as He not only picks you up, but strengthens your life. Ask him for everything and see how he makes all things new, in you, and the world around you. All we must be is willing. That is the key to this journey and our call to holiness. We must be willing...if you are not...ask the Lord for the willingness to be willing!
May we take this Lent as an opportunity to grow in holiness. Growing in knowledge of a God who is totally, in completely in love with us. An opportunity to find out who we are, and who He is within me. How much room do I give him to live within me? How much time do I give him everyday? Am I willing to let him work in my life? Am I willing to change? May we allow him to take a greater place within our hearts so that we can become more of what he longs for us to be.
--Christine
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