Fourth Week of Lent

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine; but God, who called me here below, will be forever mine.

As we progress in our effort to confront and turn away from sin this Lent,
we start to see how our selfishness blinds us. When our ego sits at the center
of our universe, it distorts our vision because we interpret everything that happens as being either in accord with our will or against it. This orientation is a recipe for discontent because it does not align with reality; the world does not revolve around us.
Grace is the gift of God’s own life, and it reorients us to see him as the source of life. With God at the center, we see ourselves and the world in the light of his truth and love. Seeing rightly requires humility; we have to get smaller to fit into the world as it is. But this makes us feel at home in God, which allows us to respond with praise and gratitude.

Prayer for Morning

God of light, you hold all creation in being. Help me recognize your presence and action in every circumstance of my life. God of life, I surrender to you.

Ponder Today

What part of my life am I trying to control as though it depended only on me? How can I invite God to provide for me?

Prayer for Evening

God of light, without you, we are consigned to the darkness of our own selfishness. Call me out of my self-centeredness and into your generosity and abundance. God of life, let me walk in your light.

Fourth Week of Lent

When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we first begun.

The average human lifespan includes 917 months. Every Lent, we set aside one and a half of those months to train our hearts and minds on heaven, where we will be united with God and our loved ones forever.
God created us for eternal union with him, which is the only lasting source of hope. Without belonging to God, our lives would only carry whatever meaning we could manage to cobble together for ourselves. And God knows we’re good at messing that up!
Most of us have an inescapable feeling that we’re made for more than what we see in this world—and we’re right. Our loving Creator has made us for eternity, and we will have to let go of the things of this world if we want to grasp the next.

Prayer for Morning

Almighty and ever-living God, you made us to find happiness and fulfillment in union with you. Give me the vision to see glimpses of this destiny here and now. Eternal Father, deepen my hope.

Ponder Today

What was a recent moment that reminded me of my eternal destiny? How can I draw hope from lingering with that memory?

Prayer for Evening

Almighty and ever-living God, send your grace so I may grow in the light of your presence. Eternal Father, sustain my faith.

Fourth Week of Lent

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease, I shall possess, within the veil, a life of joy and peace.

Sometimes, when we discover God at work in our lives, our first reaction is to see all the ways we fail to live up to our dignity as his beloved children. As we sing here, it is grace that teaches our hearts to fear because it reveals to us the gap between what God is giving us and how we’ve been messing it all up. Many of the saints had this same sort of experience; their holiness seems obvious to us, but to their eyes, their own sinfulness stands out because they are so close to God’s grace and can see more clearly how they fall short of it. But grace also relieves these fears. God knows our struggles better than we do; he is never surprised by what we do or don’t do. His only concern is to love us and to inspire us to love him in return.

Prayer for Morning

Loving God, you call us to rely on you and let go of the illusion that we can find true happiness solely on our own terms. Remind me of my insufficiency and give me courage to entrust my needs and insecurities to you. Compassionate Father, I trust you.

Ponder Today

What is God asking me to let go of this week? What is he asking me to take up?

Prayer for Evening

Loving God, you go before us to supply our every need. Help me to catch up to what you intend for me and to change my life to embrace your purpose. Compassionate Father, lead me.

Fourth Week of Lent

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!

John Newton wrote “Amazing Grace” in 1772 as an English pastor, but he was looking back at his life, before his conversion, when he captained a ship carrying people from Africa into slavery in North America. He wasn’t using hyperbole when he said that God’s grace “saved a wretch like me.”
Grace first broke into his life when he spent eleven hours lashed to the helm of his ship as a violent storm swept his crew overboard. There, on the angry ocean, he needed help and had no one to turn to but the God he had scorned and mocked. Because he survived, he began to consider that God had a purpose for him and eventually found his way to faith.
We are not being battered by mountainous waves in the North Atlantic, but our Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and good works lash us to God’s grace, the only thing that can keep us safe in the storms of life.

Prayer for Morning

Saving God, though we are inconstant in our faithfulness, you never abandon us. God, our help, I cast myself upon your mercy.

Ponder Today

From what do I need God to save me? How have I experienced him breaking into my life this Lent?

Prayer for Evening

Saving God, you have a purpose for each of us. Grant me clarity and urgency to see what you intend for my life. God, our help, I want to serve you.

Fourth Week of Lent

Amazing grace (how sweet the sound)!

“Amazing Grace” is one of the most widely known tunes in this country; sing the first bar to a person on the street, and they’d be able to finish the f irst verse. Why is this song so pervasive? When Johnny Cash was asked this question, he recalled his childhood: after his older brother was killed in an accident, his family would sing this song together to find hope. He went on to include it in his prison concerts, explaining, “For the three minutes that song is going on, everybody is free. It just frees the spirit and frees the person.”
The melody hits major chords as it rises and falls; we feel as if it’s picking us up and carrying us when we sing it, especially in a group. And the words carry a fundamental Christian insight: we’ve become lost and blind and need to be saved; God’s grace breaks into our lives in undeserved and surprising ways. Put those dynamics together and, as the gospel singer Marion Williams said, “That’s a song that gets to everybody.”

Prayer for Morning

Almighty God, your grace appears as pure gift—precious and sweet. Help me to recognize the ways you pursue me so I can find a home in your embrace. Loving Father, secure my hope.

Ponder Today

What area of my life needs God’s grace right now? How might God already be there in a surprising way—and how can I respond to him?

Prayer for Evening

Almighty God, you promise good to us. Teach me to trust in your compassionate care. Loving Father, be my shield and portion.

Fourth Week of Lent

I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

In this fourth week of Lent, the Church offers the story of Jesus healing the man born blind (see John 9). Something in the experience of this man is captured in the song we’ll be praying with all week: “Amazing Grace.” The man had learned to accept his condition, and people were accustomed to seeing him begging near the road. Even his parents had learned to keep their distance from him. Then, suddenly, Jesus appears and rubs mud on his eyes and makes him see. The man had done nothing to earn it, but Jesus profoundly changes his life. Once discarded and disregarded, the man now challenges the religious leaders who refuse to see what Jesus is doing. This is the power of God’s amazing grace: it makes us protagonists in the kingdom because of what we have received.

Prayer for Morning

Jesus, our divine physician, you come to bring healing so we can live boldly and become agents of grace. Transform my life where I have become complacent and send me forth to do your will. Jesus, Grace of the Father, restore and revive me.

Ponder Today

When have I been lost? How did God find me—and where did he lead me?

Prayer for Evening

Jesus, our divine physician, you come with the gift of sight. Sin and selfishness have obscured my vision, and I have lost my way. I turn to you with faith and hope. Jesus, Grace of the Father, find me.

Fourth Week of Lent

Sunday, March 15 – Saturday,  March 21

Amazing Grace
Author: John Newton

Amazing grace (how sweet the sound) that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come, ’tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me, his word my hope secures; he will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease, I shall possess, within the veil, a life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine; but God, who called me here below, will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we first begun.

Third Week of Lent

I looked to Jesus, and I found in him my Star, my Sun; and in that Light of life I’ll walk, till trav’ling days are done.

The catechumens have realized that a relationship with Jesus changes the trajectory of their lives and opens up for them a new horizon. Those of us who have been following him for a time also know that our lives would look different without faith. Our friendship with Christ doesn’t just change what we do or say; it changes who we are because he is alive and walking with us. We carry his presence with us, we take on his mission, and we love as he loves. Jesus Christ is this dark world’s light; we find in him our star, our sun. Finding his “light of life” changes everything for us; there’s no going back, so we walk in that light “till trav’ling days are done.”

Prayer for Morning

Jesus, our light, your presence illuminates our way and your love gives us strength for our life’s journeys. As I keep you always before me, please keep me near you where I am safe in God’s love. Jesus, our life, walk with me today.

Ponder Today

Do I know someone who is moving through a difficulty right now? How might I walk with them and so share with them some of the love I receive from Christ?

Prayer for Evening

Jesus, our light, the arc of our lives bend toward you—the alpha and the omega—our beginning and our end. Infuse me with faith, hope, and love, so I may travel toward the Father with confidence and perseverance. Jesus, our life, thank you for your friendship.

Third Week of Lent

I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream; my thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in him.

In addition to being a time of repentance, Lent is a time to accompany those who are preparing for Baptism at the Easter Vigil. Christ has found these catechumens, and they have tasted of his life-giving streams. For these converts, faith is a difference-maker: they have decided to change their lives to follow Christ within the Church. They realized they were thirsty, and Christ revived them. With their baptism, they will live in him in a new way. We keep these catechumens close in prayer because we need to remember that faith is a difference-maker for us too. Their faithfulness reminds us of how our own thirst is quenched by the living water of Christ.

Prayer for Morning

Life-giving Lord, you know our thirst—our needs and weaknesses—better than we do ourselves. Refresh my faith so I may find life in you. Jesus, our joy, let me drink deeply of your life.

Ponder Today

How can I pray for our catechumens today?

Prayer for Evening

Life-giving Lord, our baptism gives us a share in your life and in your body, the Church. Help me draw strength from this identity and encourage those who are seeking Baptism. Jesus, our joy, immerse me in your life.

Third Week of Lent

I came to Jesus as I was, so weary, worn, and sad; I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad.

We are at the midpoint of our Lenten journey, and for many of us, our Lenten practices are starting to wear thin. We still have a long way to go, but that’s the point of a forty-day season: it is enough time to make a significant investment of ourselves. Forty days is also enough time to get beyond our own pretenses and press into a deeper sense of self. The false motives that snuck into our self-denial are burning away, and we are being
invited to rely on God alone.
The whole point of Lent is to dislodge us from our self-centeredness, from the illusions that we can make ourselves holy and happy on our own. There is only one place to find rest, and we don’t have to be worthy of him. But he cannot receive us if we do not give ourselves to him as we are.

Prayer for Morning

Christ, our rest, you seek us out, even in our incompleteness and imperfections. Grant me deeper faith so I can entrust myself to you. Christ, our peace, I come to you as I am.

Ponder Today

What fears or insecurities prevent me from coming to Christ as I am?

Prayer for Evening

Christ, our rest, you revealed to the woman at the well who you are—and who she is. I come to meet you in prayer and ask you to reveal yourself to me so I can grow in self knowledge and self-possession as I follow you. Christ, our peace, I listen for your voice.