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REFLECTION FOR THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT Over these 40 days of Lent, may the holy spirit give us the strength to act justly, the courage to And the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into love tenderly and the faith to walk humbly with the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty our god, that we might rejoice in the triumph of days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild god’s justice in Jesus at Easter. beasts; and the angels waited on him. (Mark 1: 12-13)

The Meaning of the Desert

When one speaks of the desert, and says that the desert must be present in your life, you must not think only of the Sahara or the desert of Judea, or The Meaning of Lent into the High Valley of the Nile. Certainly, it is not everyone who can have the advantage of being able Lent is the period just before Easter and lasts forty to carry out in practice this detachment from daily days. During these forty days, we prepare life… ourselves spiritually to celebrate the mystery of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. And if you cannot go into the desert, you must nonetheless "make some desert" in your life. Lent recalls the time that Jesus spent in the desert Every now and then leaving people and looking for to pray and to be alone with his father. The best solitude to restore, in prolonged silence and way that we can prepare ourselves this lent is to prayer, the stuff of your soul. This is the meaning join Jesus in the desert, in a symbolic way, and of 'desert' in your spiritual life. spend more time with our heavenly father in quiet and solitude. Two minutes a day, one hour a day, one day a month, eight days a year, for longer if necessary, Lent is a time when we prepare as a faith you must leave everything and everybody, and community to meet the risen Christ at Easter. It is retire, alone with God. If you don't look for this a time for us to turn away from what keeps us from solitude, if you don't love it, you won't achieve living the Gospel, and to remind ourselves that we real contemplative prayer.... are called to lives rooted in justice. To be just in the biblical sense is to be in right relationship with But the desert is not the final stopping place. It is a God. As we prepare to meet Christ in his stage on the journey.... You must go back among resurrected glory, we pray for a change of heart people, mix with them, live your intimacy with towards greater love of God and each other and we God in the noise of the cities. It will be difficult but share our food, our wealth and our time with you must do it. And for this the grace of God will others in need. not fail you....

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Mother Teresa Reading FAST: Fast from… u Overscheduling Contemplatives and ascetics of every age and every u Multi-tasking religion have always sought God in the silence and u Screens (technology) as these are solitude of deserts, forests and mountains. Jesus stimulants, not restful activities. himself lived for forty days in complete solitude, u The need for control and perfection spending long hours in intimate conversation with u From anything that complicates rather the Father in the silence of the night. than simplifies your life.

We, too, are called to withdraw into a deeper PRAYER: Prayer is… silence from time to time, alone with God. Being u A Walk in the Woods alone with him – not with our books, our u Moments of quiet and stillness thoughts, our memories, but in complete u nakedness; remaining in his presence – silent, Reading an inspiring book empty, motionless, waiting. u Listening for the quiet voice of God u Anything that renews your passion for We cannot find God in noise and restlessness. life, and work. Look at nature: the trees, flowers, grasses all grow in silence; the stars, the moon, the sun all move in CHARITY: Giving to others includes… silence. The important thing is not what we are u Letting go of old hurts able to say but what God says to us and what he u Reconciling with family and friends speaks to others through us. In silence, he listens u Standing with those who struggle with to us; in silence, he speaks to our souls; in silence, any infirmity we are granted the privilege of hearing his voice: u Communicating and Compromising In the silence of the heart God will speak. u Anything that contributes to positive relationships in your life.

THE PROMISE OF LENT

Lord God, as we enter this season of Lent, this period of reflection and refocus, help us to stop, listen, renew. Help us to let go of the rush and noise. And wait patiently before God.

Let the busyness of our body rest, Let the worries of our mind rest, Let the doubts of our spirit rest. Let us hear God’s call to wholeness. A New Twist to Traditional Let us open the deep places of our hearts Practices And allow the Spirit to recreate, Busyness into peace,

Worry into trust, Lent draws attention to the three traditional Doubt into hope. practices of fasting, prayer, and charity. In light of the metaphor of Lent as a desert experience, these Prepared by Deacon Dominic Pullano, practices can be reinterpreted to mean: St. David’s Parish, Maple ON.