When we journey through Lent, there are different ways of
envisioning our journey. Most years, I
prefer to journey with Our Lord on His way to the cross. Though I’m sure I will at least contemplate
His Agony in the Garden during Holy Week, I would like to focus on Jesus’ time
in the desert.
Yes, He was tempted.
But He also went there to be alone with God. He frequently returns to this solitude
throughout His Proclamation of the Kingdom.
He calls each of us in a special way to “Come away by
yourselves to a secluded place and rest awhile.” (cf Mark 6:31) St. Teresa of Calcutta adds that “We need
silence to be alone with God, to speak to him, to listen to him, to ponder his
words deep in our hearts. We need to be
alone with God in silence to be renewed and transformed.”
And we are not alone, in this silence and solitude. We are with God Himself! How we see God and how we let Him impact our
lives is not about loneliness. How we
see ourselves will also determine if we are comfortable with solitude. Are we afraid of ourselves, or do we accept
and embrace ourselves in the Father’s Love?
After all, there is a difference between loneliness and solitude.
So let us learn from the “porch” of Lent behind and enter
the depths of what mortifications, adjustments, and additions that will help us
grow in the spiritual life.
What will make me
trust Jesus more?
How can I offer
things up in a more meaningful way?
What is it like to be with God?
“Therefore, behold, I
will allure her, Bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.”
(Hosea 2:14)
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