Tag Archives: lent 2023

Day 27: Friday, March 24, 2023

Fasting

Scripture: Then I turned to the lord God, to seek an answer by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and

ashes. (Daniel 9:3 NRSV)

Devotion: It has been said that regular fasting at its most basic level may well be the most effective way to deal with all the appetites and pressures that rule us. So many saints throughout history have practiced fasting religiously. Combined with prayer, it is a critical means of making ourselves available to the cleansing, restoring, and empowering grace of God.

Growing up, I often witnessed my mom and aunts carry on this tradition. Although I was invited to participate, I never took it seriously, and if I did take part, it was more of a requirement while on a church retreat or with a group. Later in seminary life, the importance of fasting was reiterated.

While fasting is not all there is to the Christian life, it creates enough space for God to engage us. The most popular fasting is abstinence from food, but this alone cannot be experienced as spiritual until it can be joined with the sense of acknowledging God’s love and responding by loving others. Fasting is not primarily a discipline through which we gain greater control over our lives but through which God gains access to redirect and heal our body, mind, and spirit.

Fasting and prayer are traditional disciplines for the season of Lent. Whatever your experience with fasting may have been in the past, may we earnestly make space and clear the way for God so that we can be restored and discover more fully the desires of our soul.

Following is an author’s definition on fasting that I thought appropriate.

“Fasting is cleansing. It cleans out our bodies. It lays bare our souls. It leads us into the arms of that One for whom we hunger.

In the Divine Arms we become less demanding and more like the 

one who holds us. Then we experience new hungers. We hunger and thirst for justice, for goodness and holiness. We hunger for what is right. We hunger to be saints. Most of us are not nearly hungry enough for the things that really matter. That’s why it is so good for us to feel a gnawing in our guts. Then we remember why we are fasting. We remember all the peoples of the world who have no choice but to go to bed hungry. We remember how we waste and squander the goods of this world.

We remember what poor stewards of the earth we have been. We remember that each of us is called to be bread for the world. Our lives are meant to nourish. Fasting can lead us to the core of our being and make us more nourishing for others.” – Macrina Wiederkehr

Prayer: Holy God, We come to you in the emptiness of our body and soul and ask that you fill it with your love. Amen

AW

Day 25: Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Freewill

Scripture: The human mind plans the way, but the Lord direct the steps. (Proverbs 16:9 NRSV)

Devotional: One of the greatest gifts of God to humanity is the freedom to choose. We can choose our attitude and direction in life.

Sometimes we don’t always make the right choice. We rush to make decisions or have the wrong motives. We even sometimes choose not to choose, and the consequences haunt us for our indecisions.

Sometimes the problem with choices is that there are too many, and need for a clearer understanding of which way is right and which way is wrong. Other times, we may feel that we have no choice. God gave us the gift of freewill so we can make wise choices. We should make the right choices through guidance from the Bible and the Holy Spirit. When we feel we have made the wrong choice, we can ask God to help us choose again and direct our steps. We do not have to be stranded in the desert or the middle of nowhere. We can always find hope in asking God to direct our steps and bring us back on the right track.

During the season of Lent, if you are on the wrong track, ask God to redirect your steps and help you get back on the right path.

Prayer: Holy God, we give you thanks for gifting us freewill. As we plan for our life, help us stay on course. Amen

AW

3.10.23

It’s Friday morning, and I just glanced at my calendar. And to my horror, daylight savings time is marked for this Sunday, March 12, 2023. Oh no, the one day I dread all year long is fast approaching. It’s one of my least favorite days of the year, as it always messes with my sleep schedule for days, weeks, and maybe months until they change the time back in the fall. But just like time changes, there are many things in life that we can’t control, seasons, weather, inflation, the state of the world, and people’s behavior. All we can do is prepare ourselves and respond in the best possible way we know how.

The Lenten season is a reminder of this, as it challenges us to overcome the desires of the flesh (like more sleep) and prepare ourselves for Easter. It’s not meant to be a season of suffering or denying ourselves of something for no reason, but rather Lent is an opportunity to become new persons ready to rise with Christ.

St. Oscar Romero once said, “People do not mortify themselves during Lent out of a sick desire to suffer. God did not make us for suffering. If we fast or do penances or pray, it is for a very positive goal: by overcoming self, one achieves the Easter resurrection. We do not just celebrate a risen Christ, distinct from us, but during Lent, we prepare ourselves to rise with him to new life and to become the new persons is what the country needs right now. Let us not just shout slogans about new structures; new structures will be worthless without new persons to administer the new structures the country needs and live them out in their lives.”
St. Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, The Violence of Love (2004). Assassinated March 24, 1980, El Salvador

His words struck a chord with me. Lent was not meant to be a time of aimless suffering but intentional self-reflection and growth. It reminds us that we can always strive to become better versions of ourselves, even in the face of things we can’t control.

So, as I prepare for the time change, I am reminded that I may not have control over everything in life, but I do have control over how I respond. As I mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually prepare to adjust my clocks forward an hour, I keep in mind that change is hard many times. We don’t quickly adapt and accept them because we’re too comfortable with everything where they are. But if we’re to embrace a new season, and rise with Christ, then we must prepare ourselves for a future that lies ahead, in which God is calling us not just to wake up but to rise and embrace the new life that awaits us.

Peace and grace!