From today's first reading:
"Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God."
To rend is to rip open violently and with painful feelings. We are called to rend our hearts, that which is inside of us, not the exterior or superficial, not the garments. Lent is a time of deep and intense interior reflection, participation with grace, and subsequent action. We are called to a renewed sense of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. God calls us to return not half heartedly, but with our whole heart; with all that is within us, the pain, the suffering, the joy, the busyness, the moments of despair, the moments of hope; all that makes us who we are and all that holds us back from becoming who we are meant to be. Bring it. Now is the acceptable moment, now is the acceptable time. Don't wait until a future Lent to open your heart. Do it now. Now is the time of our salvation.
Fight the good fight this Lent. Dig deep into yourself. Rend your heart. Be opened and allow God to fill you. Do not be afraid to fast, for when our bodies are hungry we are reminded sacramentally that our spirits hunger for God in an even more intense way. Do not be afraid to pray, for one day within God's courts heals a thousand elsewhere. Do not be afraid to give alms, for what we do for the least of our brothers and sisters we do for Christ.
Repent and believe in the Gospel. Open your heart to God. Be empty that you may be continuously filled.
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Reflection Questions:
Does my prayer strive to connect me to God or is my prayer ritual an idol?
Does my fasting lead me to immoderate feasting of something else?
Am I afraid of giving too much of my money? too much of my time? too much of my emotional self?
Am I open to God working in my life in new ways this Lent? How?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJH9BLrN83U&feature=player_embedded
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Blessings,
Isaac
1 comments:
I'm a big fan of Kutless and that song :)
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