I am a sinner in need of God’s mercy. Really, I know that, but in my heart, do I believe it? Do you believe that? If I/you could embody this truth, would the next forty days be a time of deep spiritual renewal and transformation?
Many of us have had our own wilderness experiences. Mine occurred during a retreat a few years ago. I was experiencing a very dark time. I felt that if I could make a general confession, I would feel better. I approached the retreat priest and with much trepidation told him I wanted to make a general confession. He said, “have you confessed these sins before?”, I said, “yes, but I’m not sure that I didn’t forget some.” He said, “have you forgiven yourself? Do you trust that God in His mercy has forgiven you? God loves you and He knows what’s in your heart.”
Pope Frances speaks of an attitude of the heart, one which approaches life with serene attentiveness, which is capable of being fully present to the other person, one who accepts each moment as a gift from God to be lived to the full. (Laudato Si, p.147)
My prayer during retreat was, ‘Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner’. Toward the end of the retreat, deep in the silence of my heart, I heard the echo of these words, ‘you are my beloved daughter, in you I am well pleased.’ The darkness lifted and I was filled with gratitude and peace.
God’s steadfast love and faithfulness are reflected in the scripture readings. God makes a covenant with Noah to love and protect all living creatures and the earth itself. In the Psalm we are reminded again of the beauty and union with God experienced by all who embrace this covenant of abiding love. It speaks of a living hope, a new birth and an unshakeable faith. The Gospel takes us into the desert with Jesus where He spent forty days in prayer and fasting. He, in humility allowed Himself to be tempted by the devil. He overcame the temptations and remained in union with the Father in total self-surrendering love.
We, too have our temptations.
Pope Frances in his Lenten message to the Church (2015) speaks clearly on what Lent should really be. He urges that instead of abstaining from food or drink, we should fast from indifference. He says, “indifference to our neighbor and to God represents a real temptation for us Christians.”
Describing what he calls the ‘globalization of indifference’ he writes, “whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard. The quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades.” He continues that, “we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this was someone else’s responsibility and not our own.”
As we begin our Lenten journey, may we be renewed in spirit and experience God’s essence of love, forgiveness and mercy.
Mary McGuire, CSJ