Will You Allow Lent to Change You?

woman praying in church #st.josemariaescriva #lent #prayerinlent

It’s that time of year when Lent is approaching and the familiar question of, “What are you giving up for Lent?” is asked. Chocolate, sweets, snacks, desserts, tv, social media, etc. are all common answers. While ‘giving up’ something that we love is a good sacrifice, maybe a better question to ask is, “How will you allow Lent to change you?”

Certainly, giving up something we love will help us focus on the fact that it’s Lent, and if we offer it up as prayer of our bodies and our will out of love for God, then it will have merit. But Lent is not about giving up something just to deny ourselves. Lent is about changing our hearts, opening our minds to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and living the Gospel stories as “just another person in the scene”, as St. Josemaria Escriva liked to say – to be a part of Jesus’ life, experiencing His suffering and death, and then rejoicing in His resurrection.

Not having chocolate or Diet Mt. Dew may help me focus on the season, but will it change me?

What Does Jesus Say?

We’ve heard the story of Mary and Martha so often – Mary listening attentively at the feet of Jesus, while Martha is busy making lunch for everyone. I’ve often felt a little indignant on Martha’s behalf. Seriously, if Martha had also just sat at Jesus’ feet, no one would have eaten! But Jesus is clear:

”The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
Lk 10:41-42

So, does that mean that Jesus is telling Martha to forget about the meal, forget about eating, and simply spend your entire day in prayer? I don’t think so. But Jesus had just entered their home, and it seems that He’s correcting her priorities. Certainly, Mary was going to need to eat, along with everyone else – especially Jesus and His disciples who were traveling. But she chose FIRST to stop and spend time with the Lord.

You get the impression that Mary is calm, cool, collected and oblivious to the worries of entertaining. And she is! Because her priorities are correct. First, time with Jesus, listening to him, gazing upon His serene countenance, hearing His words of encouragement and/or gentle challenge. Filling her interior life with peace. THEN she would attend to the details of entertaining.

Calm or Anxious?

Martha, on the other hand, is “anxious and worried” and busy. She hasn’t spent the time with Jesus to soak up His gentle words of encouragement, friendship, and kindness so that she could tend to her work with a peaceful heart.

But the story of Martha and Mary isn’t necessarily an either/or story. Obviously, we are women who must work – outside the home, inside the home, or both. Jesus is not telling us we must be at His feet all day without a care for the work we are responsible for.

He’s challenging us to prioritize correctly. To sit with Him first, then go about our daily work and occasionally throughout the day, check back in with Him to recover our peace and remind ourselves to serve others with His gentle heart and peaceful spirit.

Prayer First

Are you anxious and worried about many things? Prayer will bring peace.

Do you feel like you need ‘something’ to make your life meaningful? Prayer will give meaning.

Do you know and embrace God’s mission for you? Prayer will reveal it to you and will make you happier than you ever imagined!

Be warned: the devil doesn’t want you to pray, so he’ll give you all kinds of reasons NOT to pray, and will tempt you into thinking it is a waste of time. The last thing the devil wants for you is to be at peace and filled with contentment in your life. Don’t give in to the lies. If Jesus, the Son of God, felt the need to go off and pray so often, clearly it is something important to do. And if He needed to do it, even more do we need to pray!

Action Steps in Making Prayer a Priority for You This Lent

Make the commitment to pray at least 10 minutes every day. If you can begin with 10 minutes, then, after a couple of weeks, if you feel like that’s very doable, challenge yourself to add 5 min. When that becomes easily doable add 5 more until you can get to 30 minutes – that may take longer than the time of Lent but it is a good goal.
Look at your schedule to decide when you will pray and COMMIT to that time every day. Get up early, after the kids are at school, and/or first thing during nap time are all good options. Figure out what works for YOU! You may have a schedule where you can get up early and pray M-W-F but need to do prayer during nap time T-TH. This is your schedule – decide what works for you. And if on any given day, you haven’t prayed by 5PM, then pray when you can before bed, but pray your committed time each day!
Find a comfortable, quiet place where you won’t be distracted.
Find a good spiritual reading book to help you keep yourself focused. Every saint did this! Even Mother Teresa speaks of never going to her prayer time without a book to help her focus. Discover what God may have in mind for you to hear. (You can find my extensive list of excellent books for prayer in the Home Resource page HERE.)
Check your clock or set your timer for a full 10 minutes. If you find you have nothing to “consider” or pray about, sit and stay the whole time. I can’t tell you how many inspirations I’ve had from God during those last few minutes!
Begin by asking the Holy Spirit to give you insights and open your heart and mind to all God wants to say to you.
Thank God for all your blessings – articulate them, then if you have any specific intentions you need to place in His hands, say them (either in your mind or verbally) and give them to Him.
Then sit quietly, emptying your mind and listen. God can’t penetrate your thoughts if your mind is filled with stuff! If a particular issue comes to your attention, ask God to help you resolve it (“Lord, how should I handle this?”) If you feel like there’s ‘nothing’ to pray about, open your book at read for 30 sec. to 1 min, then think about what you read and how it can apply to your life. Be careful not to spend your time reading!! That’s not praying.
Make one resolution to help you put this time of prayer into action in your day.
End by thanking God and ask the Holy Spirit to help you follow through on your resolution.

“Withdraw into yourself. Seek God within you and listen to Him.”
St. Josemaria, The Way #319

Make a Resolution to Pray

This year allow Lent to change you by committing to daily prayer. Embrace this season to learn more about Jesus and His love for you AND how He can support and nurture peace in your life.

If you haven’t seen my letter at thecatholicwoman.co please check it out! I talk about how my priorities, perspective, and motherhood changed by embracing prayer in my life.

With Much Affection-

Janet

P.S. If you have any questions about how to pray or specific books that are helpful in keeping focus during prayer, please don’t hesitate to email me. I’ve been blessed with good mentors and I’m happy to help!