As we look ahead to the beginning of our Lenten journey to Easter this coming Ash Wednesday we can heed the words of Father Richard Leonard S.J.

“The problem these days is that Lent for some people has become part of an annual keep-fit or get-fit programme. While good things in themselves, they are not Lenten. We don’t give up food and forgo alcohol or chocolate to get slim or to prove ourselves that we are not alcoholics or have great will power. We give up or take on things in Lent because it helps us to confront the elements in our lives or in ourselves that hold us back from following Christ and being the most faithful, hopeful and loving person possible.”

The hope I have for myself, and for you, is that together we are prepared to take a journey together. Just as Gods people passed through the waters of the Red Sea led by Moses spending forty years wandering in the desert before entering the land, so too we are together spending forty days in a wilderness that is this Lenten season before we are ready to enter into the joy of Easter.

We are not wandering aimlessly but this a time when we are being renewed and moulded by God’s spirit. We are shedding our selfishness and complacency and in the desert stillness, opening ourselves up to the gentle and healing voice of Christ, as the daily reading of Scripture becomes our food and nourishment. So we are re-discovering Christ, placing him once again at the centre of our lives.

In this busy and anxious time make sure to create for yourselves desert moments in the day when you sit with Christ and he speaks to your heart.

This week, when we receive the ashes, we will hear those words ‘Repent and believe in the Gospel’ or ‘Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return’. The outward sign of the ash lasts but a day but it is a sign of our desire to change and to grow and to become truly the person God is calling us to be. Our prayer, fasting and almsgiving is how we opening ourselves to God’s grace and gift.

A Prayer for Lent

Almighty and ever living God,
you invite us deeper into your world, your people, your Lent.
May this time be one of outward focus;
seeking you in those we often ignore.
Help us live a Lent focused on freedom, generosity, and encounter. Give us hearts hungry to serve you
and those who need what we have to give