Open your ears.
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
Listen. We began the season of Lent in the desert with Jesus. There, Jesus faced temptation and showed us how to avoid sin by staying focused on God and God’s ways. From the desert, we go to a high mountain, where we hear the voice of God urging us to listen to Jesus.
Pray. During Lent, we set aside time for prayer, time to listen to God and search our life in response to God’s loving presence. Christ speaks to us in word and sacrament, through loving relationships, in joyful and challenging times. We must be ready to listen.
Reflect. What is your desert? What tempts you? From what do you need to turn away in order to listen to the Lord more attentively and make a greater place for Jesus in your life?
Open your eyes.
“Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.”
See. During Lent, we are invited to open our eyes, to pay attention to the grace of God in our midst and see the needs of others. In the gospel we hear on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the man did not ask to be healed. Jesus saw his need and reached out to him. As a result, the man who was born blind could see, but those around him were blind to the truth of the Good News of Jesus Christ. They couldn’t believe what was before their very eyes. We may see the face of God in the poor and vulnerable, the eyes of a child, the Body and Blood of the Lord in the Eucharist. We must be ready to open our eyes to perceive God’s presence and to see others through the eyes of God, as precious and wonderful in his sight.
Fast. In Lent, we fast from a favorite food, beverage, screen time, or activity in order to experience more fully our hunger for God and to become more willing to live as God’s holy people in the world.
Reflect. How often do you fail to see the goodness of God’s love? In what ways might you more fully accept and share the mercy and forgiveness Christ freely gives?
Open your heart.
“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Feel. Lent is a time in which to open our hearts to Christ, to risk trusting in God and allow Jesus to change us. The Samaritan woman did not at first understand what was happening to her as she spoke with the Lord at the well. Yet, she did not run away, and opened her heart to Christ. Not only was her heart moved and her life changed, so were the people of her town whom she told of her encounter with Jesus.
Give. During Lent, we give our time, money, and support to those who are poor, lonely, sick, in prison, the most vulnerable among us. We share our faith in Jesus and the impact of our faith in word and in deed, with friends, family, and especially with those to whom we reach out in charity this season.
Reflect. How might you open your heart to encounter Jesus this Lent? Who needs to know Christ’s love and mercy through your giving and sharing? How might you go beyond yourself in care, compassion, and charity?