On the brink of Lent I'm finding it so edifying to traverse blogland and peek in on others as we make final preparations for this holy season. I don't mean reading about particular penances or spiritual practices or crafts or anything like that, but just knowing that we are not alone in this journey, that so many others are packing their bags and lacing up their boots to begin this spiritual trek. It's like we're setting out on this great adventure, not really knowing where the Lord is going to lead us or what He's going to show us or teach us in these forty days. We do know He takes and accepts and uses and magnifies whatever it is we have to offer, however wretched we are at the moment, no matter how often we have strived and fallen short in the past.
We do this every year. We start over. We aim to climb higher and go deeper and crawl closer. We forget our past failures and falling short, our regrets and regressions and we set out once again. All these willing spirits, wanting to grow closer to Our Lord and grow in holiness - for me there is hope and courage and comfort in this feeling of solidarity.
O Jesus, I place myself at the foot of the Cross, help me to understand how necessary it is to suffer in order to resemble You. (from Divine Intimacy)
Some of us our choosing our 'sufferings', our Lenten penances and detachments. Others are struggling to keep crawling along under the weight of the crushing crosses given. Pain, hurt, illness, separation, anxiety, being misunderstood, feeling betrayed, standing accused, enduring loneliness, fear, loss, rejection, failure, sin.
O Jesus, I place myself at the foot of the Cross, help me to understand how necessary it is to suffer in order to resemble You.
Cleanse me, Lord. Purge me. Show me clearly the filth that needs to be made clean. The stone that needs to be turned flesh. The idols that need to be smashed.
O Jesus, I place myself at the foot of the Cross, help me to understand how necessary it is to suffer in order to resemble You.
A couple of simple things for the journey - we updated the calendar print out from last year. This is a helpful visual for little ones to help them see just how long Lent is, how close we are getting to Easter day by day.
They color a block a day using the appropriate liturgical color. Download Lent 2011
And these prayer cards you've seen before. I like to have these visual reminders to mentally stop and pray, and I put them all around in mundane places so I come upon them frequently. Download We adore You
O Jesus, I place myself at the foot of the Cross, help me to understand how necessary it is to suffer in order to resemble You.
