Reflection

As we continue our journey of Lent, we have encountered the COVID-19 virus which has presented us with an unprecedented situation.  In our society there are a lot of people unsure, worried and stressing with the unknown.  It is all unchartered waters and we are all living in a time of not knowing what is ahead and people are feeling uncomfortable.

In this season of Lent we are invited to examine our lives, ask ourselves questions about how we are travelling, what is really important, how am I being called to grow and where is God in all of this?   In a sense the season of Lent is meant to be uncomfortable.  It invites us to step out of our usual comfortable existence and through Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving, orientate our lives more towards God.  It is also true that being uncomfortable as so many are at this time, can help us turn towards God.

The reality in the Spiritual Life is that we are not made to be comfortable.  As Pope Benedict XVI said, 'The world offers you comfort.  But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness’.  We are made to be great and this means going above and beyond, going outside of our usual routines.  As we continue this time of Lent through Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving, let us go beyond ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit to move us from comfort to greatness.  It could be through little acts of love, more time for prayer, generous service of people in our house, our street, in another country, greater sacrifices of fasting that our hearts grow and we can be shaped more and more until we become the people God has created us to be.

The truth is that God has created us, He knows us better than we know ourselves and He knows what is best for us.  Let us open our hearts in Lent to allow His love to come in, touch and shape our hearts and lives, to mould us not to be comfortable, but to be all we have been created to be.

Holy Family of Nazareth – Be our inspiration and our guide

Jesus of Nazareth – help us to grow in faith, wisdom and knowledge