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We are officially into Lent, and
in this first week, it is still early enough to set (or re-set if need be)
our direction for this beautiful season. For each week of Lent, our Tuesday
Strength for the Week newsletters will offer one practical tip for
living a fruitful Lent.
Tip #1 is the
Lord’s invitation to us on Ash Wednesday:
“Return to me with your whole heart!” (Joel 2:12) “With your
whole heart” means choosing to enter decisively into this season of
Lent. I’ve heard Lent called “a retreat for the whole Church.” Some
people might groan when they hear the word “retreat,” but for me, a retreat
is like a spiritual birthday party in which:
1) we come to spend quality time with the Friend who loves us most,
2) we find that the Friend is hosting a surprise party for us, and
3) our Friend gives us a stack of wrapped gifts.
Turning to God or making time for God is the best way we can enter into
Lent, and it’s also how we can become more receptive to God. God responds
to our openness by giving us special gifts. We can unwrap the gifts,
appreciate them, and put them to good use. Or we can be unappreciative
guests: we can come late to our own party, leave the gifts unwrapped, or
even unwrap the gifts but leave them unexamined in our closet.
Lent has arrived
at just the right moment for me because,
in a world that is more than ever haunted by division and suffering, I need
the reminder that Saint Francis de Sales shares with us this week: God
doesn’t abandon us. Instead, he sends his only Son to be with us, even in
the most difficult of moments, bringing the gifts of grace, love, and
peace.
I pray that you
may wholeheartedly receive God's gifts to you this Lent.
God bless,
Sr. Marie Paul
Curley, FSP
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