by Sr. Anne-Louise Nadeau, SNDdeN
Pax Christi USA Director of Programs
Joel 2:12-18 | 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 | Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Just another Lent?
As we age, Lent seems to come upon us more quickly with each year, and today is already another Ash Wednesday.
In the course of our years we have heard the invitation found in today’s first reading to return to God with ALL of our being, that God is tender-hearted and abundantly lavish in making blessings available to us. We have listened to Paul say in the second reading that NOW is the time to make right our relationships and not to put it off any longer. Matthew clearly states that our acts of goodness are not meant to impress anyone, they are not performances that attract attention, nor should we be doing them to receive any kind of ‘thank you’.
The kind of prayer that God wants is for us to go to a quiet place, and without a lot of words, sit simply and honestly and begin to sense the abundance of God’s blessings.
Reflection Questions:
- Will we give a bigger chunk of our hearts to God this Lent?
- Will our relationships be more authentic?
- Will our acts of goodness be more genuine?
- Or will this be ‘just another Lent”?
* This reflection is from Everything is Grace: Reflections for Lent 2016, now available for purchase and download from the Pax Christi USA Store online.