Lent - A Season spent preparing for Resurrection

How shall we approach this Lenten season.? Shall we "give up" some little pleasure or perhaps suppress some carnal desire for the next 40 days? may I suggest a better way....

Lent is a liturgical season reserved for entering into, or reestablishing, the Sanctuary of our heart, and meeting our creator in the midst of the desert of modern living. It is a divine opportunity for preparation. Preparation for what you may well ask? Preparation for life I shall answer. In John 10:10 Jesus promised so very much more than a redemption from Hell through justification. He promised new life, His inner divine life, to beat within our breast.

Lent is a season for drinking from the water of life that flows from His heart. It is the season of rediscovery of the beauty of desert solitude and life. Here in His womb of silence we can meet again with the reality of God, ourselves, and others. Divine life, "Zoe" resurrection life, is received through communion with God.

This lent I would like you to share with me from the waters of life that flow through the Anabaptist Community, The Bruderhof. I invite you to read from their wonderful book "Why Forgive" available as a free E-Book (just follow the link provided).

I pray that every Missionary of the Holy Spirit will not be known for their perfectionism but rather for their sincere love, humility, and willingness to forgive.

"One day Abraham invited a beggar to his tent for a meal. When grace was being said, the man began to curse God, declaring he could not bear to hear His name.

Seized with indignation, Abraham drove the blasphemer away.

When he was at his prayers that night, god said to him, "This man has cursed and reviled me fifty years and yet I have given him food to eat every day. Could you not put up with him for a single meal?"

("Taking Flight" by Fr. Anthony de Mello S.J., Page 157. )

With much love,

Fr. Gerard M.H.S.