Reflection
Lent is a unique time calling us to remember, gently encouraging us to let go, to simplify the complex in our lives, to refocus. In remembering that we are of the earth and will return to the earth, we place ourselves in solidarity with those who are hungry, thirsty, naked and imprisoned, homeless and dying. In letting go of that which dominates, we free ourselves from the demanding images of ourselves and of our worth, the false images of God and who God wants to be for us, and we get in touch with God and the power and goodness that God sees in us and in our world.
Diane Neu
Prayer
May I live in reality.
Action
Sort out the false images of yourself and of God that restrict you. Let go and live free to choose what is good for you and others. Explore how you can act on it.
Suggested Reading
Creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.
Romans 8:21
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:13-14
We are called to reach out to those who find themselves in the existential peripheries of our societies and to show particular solidarity with the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters: the poor, the disabled, the unborn and the sick, migrants and refugees, the elderly and the young who lack employment.
Pope Francis
What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.
Saint Augustine
If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.
Dalai Lama
Life’s most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Mahatma Gandhi
An awareness of one’s mortality can lead you to wake up and live an authentic, meaningful life.
Bernie Siegel
I believe the biggest themes of life are put into the best focus when held up against the very sharp light of mortality.
Mitch Albom
What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.
Albert Pike