O Lord, make this Lenten season different from the other ones. _x000D_ Let me find you again. Amen.
Interpretation
This quote expresses a desire for spiritual renewal and a deeper connection with God during Lent.
Henri Nouwen's quote reflects a profound yearning for a transformative experience during the Lenten season, a time traditionally associated with reflection, repentance, and spiritual growth. The plea to find God again signifies a longing for a revitalized faith and a deeper understanding of oneβs spiritual path, highlighting the importance of making this period meaningful and distinct from previous experiences.
In practice
During a church service focused on Lenten themes.
The Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self. God loves us, not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love.
The immense joy in welcoming back the lost son hides in the immense sorrow that has gone before....our brokenness may appear beautiful, but our brokenness has no other beauty but the beauty that comes from the compassion that surrounds it.
Suffering invites us to place our hurts in larger hands. In Christ we see God suffering β for us. And calling us to share in Godβs suffering love for a hurting world. The small and even overpowering pains of our lives are intimately connected with the greater pains of Christ. Our daily sorrows are anchored in a greater sorrow and therefore a larger hope.
To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, welcome, to accept.
Waiting is a dry desert between where we are and where we want to be. (Finding My Way Home)
Becoming the beloved is pulling the truth revealed to me from above down into the ordinariness of what I am, in fact, thinking of, talking about and doing from hour to hour.
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.
There is no specialized art of prayer. All of life must be a training to pray. We pray the way we live.
May we all make the journey to Bethlehem in spirit, taking with us a tender caring heart as our gift to the Savior.
Immersion in the scriptures is essential for spiritual nourishment. The word of God inspires commitment and acts as a healing balm for hurt feelings, anger, or disillusionment . When our commitment is diminished for any reason, part of the solution is repentance. Commitment and repentance are closely intertwined.
The blessing hands of Christ are like a roof that protects us. But at the same time, they are a gesture of opening up, tearing the world open so that heaven my enter in, may become "present" within it.
As we seek the Lord ever more diligently, we will surely find Him. We will see clearly that the Lord does not abandon His Church or His faithful Saints. Our eyes will be opened, and we will see Him open the windows of heaven and shower us with more of His light. We will find the spiritual strength to survive even during the darkest night.
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