Lent

In Lent, the Church offers us ways to look at things differently. We are called to be open to a special indwelling of the Holy Spirit; to pray more, to fast, and to do works of charity. I also challenge you to make yourself available to mountain-top experiences. All of these things help us be more open to God’s grace in our lives - to change and transfigure us.

Lent, at least in the northern hemisphere, is one of those happy confluences of the exterior and the interior world. The world outside us waits for the new life of Spring; we wait for the new life of Easter. Those waitings enhance one another. God is in our hearts and in the church, and it’s important to attend to Him there. But He’s also out there. So this Lent, get up out of your chair and go meet Him.

Giving and receiving valentines (or, in Charlie Brown's case, not receiving valentines) is an example of the consequences of conditional love: if (fill in the blank), then I will love you/give you a valentine/etc. We are not called to practice conditional love, however, but unconditional love - because that is how Christ loved us. We live out that unconditional love through the three pillars of Lent - praying, fasting, and almsgiving - doing it not for the sake of being seen, but in order to show unconditional love to others for their benefit.

Sometimes, like Lazarus, the Lord leaves us in the tomb for His own mysterious reasons. Rather than just lifting us out of our darkness, God asks us to remain and delays answering our pleas because Heaven’s timeline is different from ours.
In these times, there are things we can do to weather the storm: keep your eyes on the Lord, take solace in scripture, and lean on those who love you. When we're waiting in the tomb for God to act, we don't have to wait alone.

By giving God the glory and thanking him in good times and in bad, we humble ourselves and recognize that are not in charge. No matter what befalls us or the sins we commit, God is always there wanting to restore our sight and inviting us to reconcile with him. And, by exposing the darkness of sin in our lives, the light in each of us becomes more visible to those around us.

Our ultimate thirst and yearning is for God, who wants to pour his love into our hearts. Lent is a time to ask what we are filling our hearts with and how we are pouring ourselves out for others. Are we filling our hearts with murky, dirt-laden water; with soft drinks that are best enjoyed sparingly; or clear, pure water that begets more life when we share it? Jesus is the source of this life-giving water. May we drink deeply of his love and pour it out to others.

While the Sacrament of Reconciliation (a.k.a., Confession) is one of Fr. Bill's favorites, that's not the case for most people. Fr. Bill walks through some of the questions and fears surrounding this healing sacrament to explain its importance and show how we can experience a Transfiguration through it.

Lent is a time to retune the ears of our heart. That’s really the point of our fasting, prayer, and sacrifice: they’re invitations to weaken the ego with its incessant demands, to refocus our gaze back to God, and to hear Him say once more to us, “You are my beloved child. I know your heart. I know what’s best for you. I have plans for you. Come back to Me."
You don’t have to have your act together. You don’t need to hide anything. You don’t need to pretend your life is something that it’s not. Come as you are, warts and all. Find one thing to do this Lent and let God have your attention, even if it's just for 10 minutes a day. You might be surprised by what He says.