Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that you were willing to die for me. Help me to have the courage and the strength and the grace to do the same—to be willing to die to whatever it is that keeps me from being fully yours. Amen.
Scripture: John 21:18-19
Journal: What is God inviting you to in this season of Lent? How is he asking you to come and die with him? What needs to die in you in order that something beautiful might be born?
Reflection: “I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” (John 21:18-19)
There is a shift necessary if we truly
want to follow Jesus. It is a shift
that’s as demanding as it is unavoidable.
It is the shift from autonomy to obedience, the shift from independence
to dependence, the shift from clenched fists to outstretched hands,
the shift from leading to being led. It
is ultimately the shift from control to absolute surrender.
That is the invitation of Lent, the season
where we are invited by Jesus to “come and die, that I might raise you to new
life.” Which makes the real question of
the season: What needs to die in me in order for something beautiful to be
born?
Prayer
Closing Prayer: Lord, you know me better than I know myself. Your Spirit pervades every moment of my life. Thank you for the grace and love you shower on me. Thank you for your constant, gentle invitation to let you into my life. Forgive me for the times I have refused that invitation, and have closed myself off from you. Help me in the day(s) to come, to recognize your presence in my life, to open myself to you, to let you work in me, to your greater glory. Amen. ~St. Ignatius
No comments:
Post a Comment