First Sunday of Lent- Into the Desert

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)