LifeGuides

A Minute a Day for Lent

The Lord Is Near You
Theme as Lent Begins: Inviting God In
Ash Wednesday Take a moment and let God in. Invite him into the places of your heart and your life that you most want to hide from him. Ask him to speak to you about these places and to ive you the coura e to be in to trust him with your life in ever deeper ways. Thursday After Ash Wednesday !rayer is simple" it presupposes that the love of God is the foundation of our bein . This love created us and continually creates us anew. #ithout this love we simply would not be. Friday After Ash Wednesday God is concerned about our safety and our future$ so much so that God is completely invested$ so to speak$ in the reality of his people. Saturday After Ash Wednesday God is always present to what we are e%periencin &not distant$ aloof$ or impotent$ but close and powerful. #e really matter to God because we belong to him.

Theme for the First Week: Suffering

First Sunday of Lent The 'ather(s power is ood and life) ivin . The 'ather stren thened *esus to love his enemies while they hated him. +e,ection put *esus on the cross$ but it is precisely on the cross that he fulfilled the 'ather(s need to communicate his love for us and the oodness of his power.

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Monday of First Week of Lent *esus says$ .I have con/uered the world01 2o the sufferin due to evil in our lives can be turned into a valuable means of reconciliation between God and us and between us and our brothers and sisters. Tuesday of First Week of Lent *esus made himself vulnerable. 3e shed tears in his life$ died a seemin failure$ and left this earth with only a handful of followers who had earlier deserted him. As he hun on the cross$ he had only his trust in his 'ather . . . *esus made tears sacred$ because he cried. Wednesday of First Week of Lent To worship God in the midst of adversity and misfortune is to understand fully who you are in relation to God. Ima ine yourself before God$ bowin low in adoration$ perhaps unable to speak$ or perhaps even an ry at God. Allow yourself to worship and to praise despite your feelin s. Thursday of First Week of Lent I wrestle with the cross till I fall in love with the 4rucified and embrace his death in order to e%perience his resurrection . . . Friday of First Week of Lent The sufferin s that people embrace with God often take on some of God(s immensity and mystery. 4hrist creates a sculpture of your life$ usin the illnesses of your body and the sufferin s of your mind to chisel the richest details. Saturday of First Week of Lent God came to companion us in our sufferin by comin into our midst. In 4hrist$ God learned what our sufferin was like. God didn(t tell us what to do to fi% this sufferin or show us how to sidestep it. 3e drew near to us.

Theme for the Second Week: Acceptance

Second Sunday of Lent To make peace with ourselves$ we need to accept our own history. The process of becomin still may be too fri htenin because of what the stillness may brin to the surface. If so$ first create a safe place. Ima ine *esus comin to you in your safe place.

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Monday of Second Week of Lent God will lead us from where we know$ to where we don(t know. #e will be invited to faith in God$ who is workin within us$ burnin away every desire$ thou ht$ or plan that is not his own. 3e lon s for our deep choice of him. Tuesday of Second Week of Lent #e a ree to leave behind control$ security$ and the cocoon we all spin around ourselves$ protectin our dependence on the very thin s that are ruinin our lives. It is the lon est yes because it starts at the be innin and ends only at our death. Wednesday of Second Week of Lent You feel me to be far away. Instead$ I am ri ht at the door knockin . I offer you freedom&freedom from yourself. You will e%perience my power to save as soon as you place your life into my hands. 6ine are stron hands$ but they are safe hands. Thursday of Second Week of Lent 6ary will conceive a child without a human father$ and that child will be God. 2he simply says yes" she allows God to decide everythin $ to arran e everythin . 2he asks no /uestions. 2he ,oyfully ives God her consent . . . Friday of Second Week of Lent Turn toward *esus and away from the persons or events that have caused you pain. Look into *esus( face and see the compassion and stren th in his eyes. *esus has always known your heart(s oodness. In his eyes you are always worth lovin $ you are always beautiful. Saturday of Second Week of Lent I$ the Lord$ am interested in your ood name$ and I want you to be secure. 6y plans are for your ood. You may need to relin/uish the little security you think you have in order to discover the reater security I promise. I know how hard it is$ and I am patient as you ather your coura e.

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Theme for the Third Week: Forgiveness

Third Sunday of Lent

ealing and

4ome to me. In your sadness$ I$ the Lord$ will ive you a place to rest your head and wait until the depths of pain wash over you and disappear. 2lowly you will heal. 2omethin ood for you is unfoldin . 2o trust the work$ the process$ trust the rhythm of healin . Monday of Third Week of Lent Isaiah tells of the healin God !ants to bestow$ is going to bestow 8Isa 19:--" ;<:1=$ 19> on those who acknowled e their faithlessness$ those who a ree to leave the hei hts of pride and walk on the low paths of humility. Tuesday of Third Week of Lent ?ein ready to for ive$ means reali@in that behind the other person(s offensive or socially problematic behavior is a cry askin to be heard$ a pain from the past not dealt with$ or a statement about the present not articulated. 'or iveness means I need to hear what is not bein said. It means acknowled in my own selfishness$ an er$ bitterness$ ne ative attitudes$ and turnin to *esus to ask for iveness. Wednesday of Third Week of Lent Antrust to the Lord the healin of someone you love. In spirit$ bow down before *esus as *airus does$ and tell him about the person who needs his healin touch. #hen you have finished$ say: .Lord$ if you have other plans for this person$ I trust you. I pray for the stren th and the coura e for both of us to follow you wherever you may lead.1 Thursday of Third Week of Lent God is laborin within everyone and everythin for our salvation. God holds us ti htly. 3e will never let o. 3ealin takes time. ?ut we can trust the process no matter how lon it takes. Friday of Third Week of Lent The 'ather does not need perfection" he can work throu h our brokenness. Bur pain reveals his lory. +eceivin his for iveness helps us become entler with others.

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Saturday of Third Week of Lent Averythin has been a preparation for the peace God brin s about when we finally reco ni@e the radiant ift of his life in our souls. It is this li ht that rabs our attention and makes us see another option for dealin with the contradictions$ sorrows$ and pains.

Theme for the Fourth Week: "ntering God#s $resence

Fourth Sunday of Lent 2peak to God about everythin that happens or that doesn(t happen$ about how you feel and how you wish you were feelin $ about thin s that o ri ht and thin s that o absolutely wron . . . Monday of Fourth Week of Lent 2peakin with God about everythin that happens in our day is so simple that it can be elusive when we try to practice it daily. In its simplicity it brin s to ether life and prayer in one unendin conversation. Tuesday of Fourth Week of Lent God is interested in the circumstances of your life. God is savin you ri ht now. God liberated the chosen people$ but only with their help. They had to trust that this voice was truly God(s. They had to believe that God would provide for them because he loved them. Wednesday of Fourth Week of Lent Cay after day$ as we e%pose ourselves to the li ht of *esus and his word$ somethin happens inside us. #e be in to notice thin s God says to us$ thin s we feel$ thin s we hear$ thin s we see around us. Thursday of Fourth Week of Lent The oal of prayer is not thou hts about God$ but a livin $ breathin encounter with God . . . Friday of Fourth Week of Lent The Lord is near you$ standin by your side$ walkin with you throu h the fire and treadin the ocean deepD. *esus prayed that the cup of sufferin would pass him by$

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and it seemed that God didn(t answer&*esus followed the 'ather(s desire: to for ive$ not to retaliate$ to love$ not to hate. Saturday of Fourth Week of Lent To know that *esus is in the darkness !ith you and for you is prayer. . . . 6oment by moment$ ropin in the darkness$ you are not alone. *esus is stru lin with you. . . . Nothin oes unnoticed by him. You can hope for peace.

Theme for the Fifth Week: God#s Love

Fifth Sunday of Lent God loves you ,ust as you are. Let God impress you with his love. Aven if you feel nothin when you read about God(s love for you$ keep believin . Bne day you will no lon er need to believe$ because you will know. Monday of Fifth Week of Lent God(s will always lays itself open to the mistakes$ the waywardness$ the rebelliousness of humanity. In this way$ God teaches us$ mentors us$ trains us. God waits at our side . . . never forcin our response$ he is always there$ always waitin $ always lovin . Tuesday of Fifth Week of Lent Aven thou h we feel lack of peace$ inner a ony$ strife$ and endless turmoil$ God is foldin us in his oodness and meekness. #e may feel bad about ourselves$ but God does not. Wednesday of Fifth Week of Lent If God(s love is to be real$ people need to build a brid e for themselves between the e%perience of God(s love and the personal e%perience of bein loved by another person. If the God you know is not as lovin as the best people you know$ then you do not yet know God. Thursday of Fifth Week of Lent #hen we make the sli htest motion of wantin him in our life$ *esus takes up residence in our souls as a true 'riend$ throu h his 3oly 2pirit. #hen we unite our wills to his most lovin will$ we find ,oy and peace. Friday of Fifth Week of Lent

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4an you count your blessin s in the past day&even seemin ly small blessin s$ such as a friend callin $ or the sun pourin in your window$ or wakin up on timeF #hat is the most wonderful thin God has done for youF Saturday of Fifth Week of Lent God continuously breathes life into you$ keepin you in e%istence. #hat do you ima ine would be the most wonderful thin God could want from youF

Themes for ol% Week: The &ross' "ucharist' and (esurrection

Palm Sunday God became human in 4hrist to show us what it really means to be human$ that is$ to share in God(s life. The one who denies a relationship with God is like a story that is half finished. Aach person .has a capacity to let loose in him or herself the risen 4hrist.1 Monday of Holy Week The cross: it is the privile e of the 4hristian$ a stumblin block to the world. Inherent in our baptism$ infallible in its comin $ incalculable in its races$ the cross enters all our lives sooner or later. Its comin will make or break us. It often makes us only after breakin us. Tuesday of Holy Week #e are already co)heirs with *esus" we have died and risen with him in ?aptism throu h the 2pirit. The 'ather has succeeded in what he had set out to do: to ive himself to us throu h *esus in the 2pirit&and nothin can prevent him now from embracin us in the intimate love that e%ists in the 3oly Trinity. Wednesday of Holy Week In 4ommunion we receive the ?ody and ?lood of 4hrist. 2o simply$ so humbly$ he makes himself our food and our drink. 3e wants to be intimately united to us$ to become one with us so we can become one with him. Holy Thursday #hat I receive from the Aucharistic Litur y is about what God has done$ and all that God promises to do. As 4atholics$ our daily lives are not fully broken open until ,oined with others in praisin and thankin God in the midst of our human situation.

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Good Friday Nothin is beyond the sufferin of *esus. 3e dwells in our darkness&not inert and careless$ but as one who feels it all: the emptiness$ the loom$ the despair. Holy Saturday Easter Vi il *esus$ truly risen from the dead$ oes to meet 6ary in the arden. *esus must have been e%cited to see her as well. Throu h 4hrist(s lorification we have become flesh)and) blood children of his 'ather. 4hrist can truly say$ .#hat is mine is yours$ and what is yours is mine1 8cf. *n 1<:1G>.

"aster Sunda%
No lon er is there death that cannot brin life$ pain that cannot enerate fullness$ sadness that we cannot convert into profound ,oy. There are no limitations stron er than the +esurrected Bne. #e are children of the victory of the resurrection.

Are you lookin for a !ay to li"e out your "ocation accordin to God#s !ill$ Do you !ant to %e li ht for others$ To share the lo"e of God !ith them$ There is no better way than to spend a little time with God(s #ord each day$ and let the Lord show you how he wishes to act throu h you. )rdinar% Grace will help you: stay spiritually fit find ,oy stren then your faith teach you how to reflect on 2cripture and pray more deeply lead you to holiness show you how you can witness your faith to friends$ collea ues$ and family. "In today's busy world, Ordinary Grace helps us to order our days, prioritizing and being fed by scripture, meditating upon biblical truths, and praying about how the Word might fuel us to live out the gospel message in our daily lives. - Lisa M. Hendey, founder of www.CatholicMom.com

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