Lent, Day Fourteen, Second Tuesday of Lent

Lent, Day Fourteen, Second Tuesday of Lent
 

PRACTICE PRUDENCE
As a child of God, you need to be prudent. You cannot sim- vat ply walk around in this world as if nothing and no one can harm you. You remain extremely vulnerable. The same passions that make you love God may be used by the powers of evil. The children of God need to support, protect, and hold one another close to God's heart. You belong to a minority in a large, hostile world. As you become more aware of your true identity as a child of God, you will also see more clearly the many forces that try to convince you that all things spiritual are false substitutes for the real things of life.
HENRI J. M. NOUWEN

The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom, pg 28

Scripture:
¹² “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
    I possess knowledge and discretion.
¹³ To fear the Lord is to hate evil;
    I hate pride and arrogance,
    evil behavior and perverse speech.
¹⁴ Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
    I have insight, I have power.
¹⁵ By me kings reign
    and rulers issue decrees that are just;
¹⁶ by me princes govern,
    and nobles—all who rule on earth.

                        Proverbs 8:12-16

 PRAYER

God of wisdom and love, help me to see that I am yourbeloved, that your truth is my light in this dark world,and that your steady hand is my joy and my safety net.Grant me the prudence and perception to recognize those deceptive lures that obstruct and pervert my attention and sidetrack my path to you. Help me to learn to count on your infinite skill to guide me clearly in a hostile world.Amen.

LENTEN ACTION

Today practice listening with all your heart and mind.Listen to others. Listen to God.

 

 

Lent, Day Thirteen, Second Monday of Lent

Lent, Day Thirteen, Second Monday of Lent
Celebration is only possible through the deep realization that life and death are never found completely separate.... Celebration is the acceptance of life in a constantly increasing awareness of its preciousness. And life is precious not only because it can be seen, touched, and tasted, but also because it will be gone one day. When we celebrate a wedding, we celebrate a union as well as a departure, when we celebrate death we celebrate lost friendship as well as gained liberty. There can be tears after weddings and smiles after funerals. We can indeed make our sorrows, just as much as our joys, a part of our celebration of life in the deep realization that life and death are not opponents but do, in fact, kiss each other at every moment of our existence.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
Creative Ministry, pg 26

Scripture:

²⁰ And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. ²² But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: ²³ And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

 Luke 15:20-24

PRAYER
Welcoming God, help me to know that my security is in you alone, that life here is not a bowl of cherries but also comes with pits, that it is a mixture of tears and laughter, sorrow and joy, celebration and mourning. Give me the grace to remember that my life is an unearned gift from you, and death is not the finish line but a doorway to a resting place in your loving arms. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Plan to become involved this Lent in one parish or community activity that ministers to others. Know that in service to others lies happiness.

Lent, Day Twelve, Second Sunday of Lent

Lent, Day Twelve, Second Sunday of Lent
Your pain is deep, and it won't just go away...Your call is to bring that pain home. As long as your wounded part remains foreign to your adult self, your pain will injure you as well as others. Yes you have to incorporate your pain into your self and let it bear fruit in your heart and the hearts of others.

This is what Jesus means when he asks you to take up your cross. He encourages you to recognize and embrace your unique suffering and to trust that your way to salvation lies therein. Taking up your cross means, first of all, befriending your wounds and letting them reveal to you your own truth.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom, pg 24

Scripture:

³⁴ Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save their life^[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? ³⁷ Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Mark 8:34-37

PRAYER
Eternal God, I thank you and praise you because in Jesus Christ I have the assurances of salvation. Because of Christ's death on the cross and his resurrection, the door is opened to me to share in life everlasting. Help me to take up my crosses and keep my pain "at home," so that my life may be a living sign of your love. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Carry out some "giving" actions. Clean out your closets and donate clean and wearable clothing to a charitable organization. Give blood. Do a favor for a neighbor.

Lent, Day Eleven, First Saturday of Lent

Lent, Day Eleven, First Saturday of Lent
Dying is trusting in the catcher [part of a troupe of trapese artists]. To care for the dying is to say, "Don't be afraid." Remember that you are the beloved child of God. He will be there when you make your long jump. Don't try to grab him; he will grab you. Just stretch our your arms and hands and trust, trust, trust.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
Our Greatest Gift: A Meditation on Dying and Caring ,  pg 22

Scripture:

⁵ This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
⁶ That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
    they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
    in a salt land where no one lives.

⁷ “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
⁸ They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”Jeremiah17:5-8

 PRAYER
Giving and forgiving God, though I pay lip service to my trust in you, I know that in times of serious travail, I become afraid and grasp at straws instead of your saving grace. Help me to rely on you instead of myself when trouble strikes. Give me trust to hold out my hands and know that you are there. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Make a list of the gifts you take for granted: life, sight, hearing, mobility, opportunity. Keep this list with you to offset the disappointments that threaten to overwhelm your good judgment and undermine your trust in God's plan.

 

Lent, Day Ten, First Friday of Lent

Lent, Day Ten, First Friday of Lent
Jesus described the intimacy that he offers as the connectedness between the vine and the branches. I long to be grafter onto Jesus as a branch onto the vine so that all my life comes from the vine. In communion with Jesus, the vine, my little life can grow and bear fruit. I know it, but I do not live it. Somehow I keep living as if there are other sources of life that I must explore, outside of Jesus. But Jesus keeps saying, "Come back to me, give me all your burdens, all your worries, fears and anxieties. Trust that with me you will find rest.".

Henri J.M. Nouwen
Sabbatical Journey: The Diary of His Final Year, pg 20

Scripture:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. ² Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. ³ Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. ⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

John 15:1-5

PRAYER
Generous God, pruner and harvester of all my human efforts, teach me how to celebrate life's pains and sorrows so that I can discover in them a deeper love of you and a stronger hope in your promises. Let me not see loss and failure as setbacks, but as opportunities for a more fruitful life. May you always abide in me. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Review a past sorrow and find in it one positive outcome. Discipline yourself to show gratitude throughout this day on at least several occasions. Look even in the smallest corners for opportunities to nurture a thankful heart.

Lent, Day Nine, First Thursday of Lent

Lent, Day Nine, First Thursday of Lent
Self-Transformation

Jesus...told people not to be guided by the behavior of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus came among us as an equal, a brother....

 You will not be able to meet Jesus in your body while your body remains full of doubts and fears. Jesus came to free you from those bonds and so create in you a space where you can be with him...

Do not despair, thinking that you cannot change yourself after so many years. Simply enter into the presence of Jesus as you are and ask him to give you a fearless heart where he can be with you. You cannot make yourself different. Jesus came to give you a new heart, a new spirit, a new mind, and a new body. Let him transform you by his love...

Henri J.M. Nouwen
The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom, pg 18

Scripture:

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Romans 8:28-32

 

PRAYER
Creator God, let me recognize in myself the pride and false piety of one who will not admit of the imperfections of being human. Temper my doubts and fears, restore my commitment to your ways.Keep before me your promise of a new heart and a new spirit; prompt me along the path to this transformation in love and conformation to your image. Amen. 

 LENTEN ACTION
This Lent keep in mind Martin Buber's observation that "God dwells wherever humans let him in." Take time today to be alone and be aware of the movement of the Holy Spirit within you.

Lent, Day Eight, First Wednesday of Lent

Lent, Day Eight, First Wednesday of Lent
To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, "I no longer hold your offense against you." ... We also free ourselves from the burden of being the "offended one." As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but ourselves.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith, pg

Scripture:

 ³³ And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. ³⁴ And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. ³⁵ But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. ³⁶ Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. ³⁷ Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

Luke 6:33-37 

PRAYER
God, my divine advocate, grant me the spirit of authentic forgiveness. Elevate my thoughts from the pit of retribution and negativity to the liberated place where I am free from the bonds of wounded anger. Let you who for gave your executioners inspire me to forego my obsessive victimhood and free my heart to follow your will. Amen.

LENTEN ACTION
Choose one bit of emotional garbage that you are clinging to, get rid of it, and get on with your life. In honor of this act, give a gift to someone else who needs a helping hand.