Ash Wednesday
Today is Ash Wednesday. My reflection is short and sweet today, and centers on a singular question. What specific Lenten disciplines is God calling me to practice this year? For some, this may be a different way to think about what to give up or what to take on during Lent, particularly if your pattern is the same every year. The question shifts the focus from me to God. What is God inviting me to do or practice during these unique 40 days for the purpose of glorifying God and growing as a disciple? Perhaps this is a question you’d want to consider, too.
As a convert to Catholicism, the Catholic Lenten rhythms and prescriptions are new to me. I approach Lent each year with a lot of anxiety. My angst stems from a fear of “getting it wrong,” of “not doing it right.” I desperately desire to make it a good Lent. How do I do that sufficiently or completely? How do I know if I’m doing enough and doing it “right?”
God knows our hearts better than we know them ourselves. God knows what we need to die to, what we need to surrender, the sin we need to turn from, the brokenness that needs restored, the healing we need, the renewal that is possible. God knows the conversion God is calling us to, the fruitfulness God longs to bring forth, the transformation God seeks to accomplish within us. Because God sees and knows us so well, God knows what steps we need to take on the pathway to conversion. In short, God knows what will make it a good and transformative Lent for each of us. Rather than try to figure it out for myself, I only need inquire of the Lord! Today, let us ask God to reveal to each of us the spiritual disciplines and practices that will bring about the conversion that God knows we need. Come Easter Sunday, may we each be transformed more into the image of Christ than we are today because we followed the path and plan the Lord laid out for us. May this Lent be marked by authentic and lasting growth in holiness for each of us. God bless you, my brothers and sisters, on your Lenten journey!
Elizabeth Wells