First Week of Lent

What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms.

What does it mean to be “leaning on the everlasting arms”? God is spirit and is present to us through spirit. Cultivating a regular habit of prayer, as we are doing here, deepens our relationship with God. Because his presence unfolds in quiet and subtle ways, we need to develop attentiveness and patience in our prayer.
The Trinity is pure relationship, so God is present to us in other people as well. When we reach out to others, and open ourselves to let others speak into our lives, we can feel God’s arms reaching into our experience. God embraces us within the fellowship that is the Church.

Prayer for Morning

Living God, help me turn away from my willfulness and neglect of you and others. Father, hold me in your loving arms.

Ponder Today

What holds me back from cultivating a deeper interior life?

Prayer for Evening

Living God, you are present to us in ways that we cannot imagine. Help me to trust in your loving care for me and to rely on it every day. Father, draw me into your embrace.

First Week of Lent

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
leaning on the everlasting arms.

Jesus went into the desert to stamp on his life a defining disposition of reliance on the Father. He learned this faithfulness from his parents and practiced it his whole life, but here, just before he moves from his private circle of family and friends to the public realm of teaching and preaching, he cements this faithfulness in his heart. No matter where we see him in the gospels—whether he’s feasting or fasting—he never loses sight of his
connection to his Father.
Though it does not prevent his suffering, this reliance on God alone keeps Jesus safe and secure. His resurrection proves to us that this love is indeed stronger than death.

Prayer for Morning

Jesus, Faithful Witness, you show us the way to the Father—and you are the way. Draw me into your faithfulness so I may stand in the loving embrace of the Most High God. Lord of Love, lead me into your blessedness.

Ponder Today

Who has been a model of faithfulness in my dark times? How can I give thanks for that witness?

Prayer for Evening

Jesus, Faithful Witness, you keep us safe and secure. What have I to dread or fear when you are near? Keep me close to you, especially when I face temptation or suffering. Lord of Love, lead me into your peace.

First Week of Lent

As you did hunger bear and thirst, so teach us, gracious Lord to die to self, and always live by your most holy word.

We take on the discipline of fasting during Lent not to demonstrate our willpower or earn points with God in some heavenly contest. We fast as Jesus did—to practice self-denial. As our song today reminds us, fasting teaches us “to die to self and always live by [God’s] most holy word.”
Jesus’s fasting may have weakened his body, but it strengthened his will and deepened his faithfulness. When Satan tempted him, Jesus was clear-minded and single-hearted about his mission. If we direct fasting toward self-denial, it accomplishes in us the same clarity and focus. It deepens our commitment to follow Jesus and reminds us of our priorities. Fasting is a way to put our faith in our bones.

Prayer for Morning

Jesus, faithful and true, you went into the desert and fasted for forty days to prepare for the work the Father sent you to do. We who follow you share your mission. Be with me in my Lenten practice so I may join you in building the kingdom. Gracious Lord, keep me faithful to God alone.

Ponder Today

What can I do today in love to deny myself for the sake of someone else?

Prayer for Evening

Jesus, faithful and true, you teach us that we find more life when we give ourselves away in love. Help me willingly and prayerfully step into discomfort so I can more nimbly and generously respond to the needs of others. Gracious Lord, keep me faithful to your way of self-sacrifice.

First Week of Lent

O give us strength in you to fight, in you to conquer sin.

Satan didn’t come to tempt Jesus when he was settled at home in a regular routine and surrounded by his family and friends. The tempter is cunning; he waited until Jesus was hungry, alone, tired, exposed, and uncomfortable in the desert. Yet with every attempt, Jesus was faithful. He clung to God alone.
The same is true for us. Temptation strikes when we are vulnerable when we are worn down or looking for distraction or consolation. The good news is that, just like Jesus, we do not face these temptations alone. He is present to us in these moments, so we don’t have to summon the strength to resist temptation ourselves; we just need to summon the faith
to trust Jesus and turn to him. In him we can conquer sin.

Prayer for Morning

Jesus, our intercessor, you stand with us ready to bring us to the Father. Help me look to you when I am weak and tempted to follow sinful desires. Grant me clarity to see how I am wandering and humility to turn back to you. Christ, our Peace, you are all I need.

Ponder Today

When will I feel most vulnerable today? How can I remember to turn to Christ in that moment?

Prayer for Evening

Jesus, our intercessor, you are nearer to us than we realize. When we pray, serve, and love, it is you who acts in us. Help me turn my life over to you with faith that you will create me anew in your image and so make me more fully me. Christ, our Peace, I trust in your closeness and care.

Monday, February 23
First Week of Lent

Lord, who throughout these forty days, for us did fast and pray.

When Jesus went into the desert, he not only stepped into a harsh environment but also stepped away from other people. In the wilderness, there are no crowds to wade through, no smiles over breakfast, and no business to attend to. It would have been quiet and peaceful but also isolating. For a man who was deeply known at home by his parents and who cultivated meaningful friendships, Jesus may have felt lonely. But he would have known that he was not alone. The isolation gave him space to focus on sharing life with his Father and to cultivate communion with the Spirit. He would need the foundation of that relationship to inaugurate his kingdom in the few, full years that lay ahead. We need that same foundation for what we are called to do with our lives.

Prayer for Morning

Loving Spirit, you led Jesus into the desert to prepare him for his ministry. Lead me into the same solitude—even for just a few moments this morning so that I can enter into communion with our heavenly Father. Spirit of Life, meet me in stillness.

Ponder Today

What parts of my day interrupt my dialogue with God? How can I keep a conversation going with God, no matter what circumstances unfold today?

Prayer for Evening

Loving Spirit, you call us to seek your truth and let it shape our lives. This interior journey can be a lonely effort. Grant me the consolation of your presence as I set out to more closely follow Jesus. Spirit of Life, renew me.

Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days
Author: Claudia Frances Hernaman

Lord, who throughout these forty days, for us did fast and pray,
teach us with you to mourn our sins, and close by you to stay.
As you with Satan did contend, and did the vict’ry win,
O give us strength in you to fight, in you to conquer sin.
As you did hunger bear and thirst, so teach us, gracious Lord,
to die to self, and always live by your most holy word.
And through these days of penitence, and through your Passion-tide,
forevermore, in life and death, O Lord, with us abide.
Abide with us that when this life of suffering is past,
an Easter of unending joy we may attain at last!

First Week of Lent
Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days
Author: Claudia Frances Hernaman

Lord, who throughout these forty days, for us did fast and pray,
teach us with you to mourn our sins, and close by you to stay.
As you with Satan did contend, and did the vict’ry win,
O give us strength in you to fight, in you to conquer sin.
As you did hunger bear and thirst, so teach us, gracious Lord,
to die to self, and always live by your most holy word.
And through these days of penitence, and through your Passion-tide,
forevermore, in life and death, O Lord, with us abide.
Abide with us that when this life of suffering is past,
an Easter of unending joy we may attain at last!

Studyin’ about that good old way.

Lent is a time to ready ourselves for the Paschal Triduum, when we commemorate the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. It developed from the final period of preparation that those wanting to become Christian undertook before their baptism at Easter. The weeks immediately before their initiation into the Church helped them turn away from their old lives and prepare to take on a new way of living after their initiation.
Converts to the faith can help those of us who are already fully initiated into the Church stay on our toes. They remind us of our need for ongoing conversion by demonstrating that faith has changed them and their lives; it should change us too! As they go about studying the way of Christianity, they find newness, as should we all.

Prayer for Morning

Jesus, the Way, you lead us to the Father, in whom we have life to the full. Help me see how I settle for less than the divine life you offer, and deepen my desire for your love. Jesus, our brother, I long for your love.

Ponder Today

Do I know anyone who has been initiated into the Catholic faith? Ask them why they joined.

Prayer for Evening

Jesus, the Way, you call us to communion with you through your Church. Though this community is fallen and human, you sustain it as a means of grace. Send your spirit to all those preparing for initiation, and renew our faith. Jesus, my brother, make me part of your Body.

Oh, sinners, let’s go down, let’s go down, come on down.
Oh, sinners, let’s go down, down to the river to pray.

Human societies grow up near rivers or other sources. We need water for nourishment and survival. We need it to wash ourselves, our homes, our clothing, and other goods. It provides us with transportation routes and potential for trade. Water keeps us alive.
John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River because it was a place of cleansing. People went there to make things like new—to remove dirt and stains. They washed their bodies there and walked away feeling refreshed. When we encounter the life-giving waters of Baptism, we are cleansed of sin and made new. When we go down to the river as we pray with this week’s song, we do so aware of the grime we’ve accumulated, longing for the cleansing sweetness of new life in Christ, and trusting we will find it.

Prayer for Morning

Jesus, Sun of Righteousness, you are God’s mercy and friend of sinners. I come before you ready to turn away from the habits and compulsions that soil my dignity as a child of our Father. Cleanse my heart. Redeemer, I wade into your embrace.

Ponder Today

What can I do today to express sorrow for wading into sin and accept forgiveness?

Prayer for Evening

Jesus, Sun of Righteousness, you came to bring us healing and freedom. Help me welcome your truth and love so I may conform my life to yours and follow you to the Father. Redeemer, guide my life.

Oh, sisters, let’s go down, let’s go down, come on down.
Oh, sisters, let’s go down, down to the river to pray.

To stand on the shore of a river is to contemplate a mystery. Most of us can not really comprehend the myriad sources of a river’s water, for it bubbles up through thousands of square miles of drainages and hidden aquafers that make up a watershed, which creates the unending flow passing by our feet. Day and night the water runs, bringing life to the surrounding land.
The first psalm likens a faithful person to “a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; Its leaves never wither” (Ps 1:3). Let us go down to the river together to draw nearer to the mystery of God’s grace that brings us life.

Prayer for Morning

Creator God, whether we perceive it or not, your grace flows unendingly into our lives, inviting us to deeper union with you. Help me turn away from habits that keep me from the new life you offer. Lord, plant me near the river of your love.

Ponder Today

How can I place myself today near Jesus, who is living water?

Prayer for Evening

Creator God, you made us for communion with you and one another. Forgive me for the ways I have broken those relationships with my selfishness and ignorance. Help me grow straight and strong into the person you created me to be. Loving Father, deepen my roots in your love.