Another Lent begins today and we are asked to examine our lives and make an authentic effort to travel the Spiritual journey more deeply. I am committed to that journey anew this year, and like every Lent, pray that it makes me a better follower of Christ and witness to the ways of Christ in our world.
Now is the acceptable time to examine not just the surface aspects of our lives, but the very roots of our all of our ambitions, desires, and the true character of who we are. Who are we as we struggle to follow Christ? How do we make that journey in authenticity?
St. Andre Bessette once wrote: “God doesn’t ask for the impossible, but wants everyone to offer their good intentions, their day’s work, and some prayers. That will help them a lot. The best Way of the Cross is when people accept willingly the crosses that are sent to them.”
Let’s start with acceptance, then, and let acceptance be the graced moments of this Lent. Acceptance of our place in life; our struggles; our pains; our misunderstandings; our losses; our longing for love that was not there for us; our failures; our hurts . . . These become the cross we carry on the path to following Jesus. Not to be burdened by them, and not to use them as excuses, but to accept them and journey on – following Christ with every step.