Secret to Living Lent

Each season provides nature with something it needs to keep growing as does the Church with liturgical seasons. In each liturgical season God sends us the graces we need in order to keep growing in wisdom, holiness, and happiness. But these graces don't benefit our souls automatically; rather, we have to take them in on purpose. 

While most people occupy their minds with earthly things, we need to know that our citizenship is in heaven. Our attention is on God - that's prayer. We have to ask ourselves: is our prayer life in good shape? Has it improved over the years? If it's out of shape, we won't be able to drink in the graces God wants to give us this Lent, the ones we really need.

If our prayer life hasn't grown in the last year, then we need to commit ourselves to improve it because it is through prayer that we realize our friendship with God. God still has so much he wants to do in our lives. Praying doesn't require any special talent; it is something everyone can do, like walking or breathing. First, we have to make a commitment. 

We have to decide firmly, that we are going to take the risk of setting out on the adventure of prayer. It is an adventure, because we don't really know where the Lord will take us. Second, we have to choose a tactic, some concrete activity that we can do to become experts in prayer, to continue along the adventure.

After the loss of grace through original sin, staying close to God became impossible. He is too bright for graceless, sin-damaged eyes to see; he is too far away for sin-weakened souls to find. If it weren't for Christ, who shades that brightness and crosses that distance, every human soul would live in hopeless frustration, unable to embrace the only true source of happiness: God. 

In Christ, the distant, mysterious God of the Old Covenant has come to walk by our side. In Christ, the age of frustration has ended. Friendship and closeness with God are once again made possible. God is no longer too bright and too distant; he is our close companion. 

Charles Joseph - Liturgical Task Force