Lent is the Church’s annual call to return to the center—to stand before the mystery that defines our faith. We are not simply remembering events from long ago, but allowing the saving work of Christ to shape us now. We are now officially in the second half of our Lenten Season. Let’s take a look.
The Lenten Practice
Lent is not a season of spiritual scarcity. It is a season of sharpened sight. The Church invites us to slow down, clear the noise, and recover the truth that God is already present in every corner of our lives. The work of Lent is not to “bring God close,” but to wake up to the God who never left. God is always with us, active in our daily lives. Lent is a time when we continue to train ourselves to search for him in our daily lives. We do this by practicing the three pillars of Lent:
- Prayer – Too often, in prayer, we speak to God without taking the time to listen.
- Fasting – When we fast, we give up something. We should use that time when we are “fasting” to spend time with God.
- Almsgiving: giving alms is an act of faith and charity. Faith without works is meaningless.
Fasting, prayer, and almsgiving are not just Lenten duties—they are discernment tools. They help the soul recognize, respond to, and cooperate with God’s presence. Lent can be an opportunity to build these best practices into your day so they become a part of your routine.
Finding God in Your Day
The season of Lent helps us become more aware of God’s activity in our day. There is an ancient practice called “Spiritual Direction “that is rooted in Scripture, shaped by the early Church, and essential for the Lenten journey. It is one of the oldest practices in the Christian tradition—a way the People of God have always sought wisdom, discernment, and holy clarity.
Spiritual Direction is a process in which one believer (director) “journeys” with another believer (directee) to help the directee grow in intimacy and communication with God, and to deepen awareness in the directee of God being active in their daily lives. The director is a spiritual companion to the directee and meets with the directee regularly to discuss prayer and where God may be present in the directee’s life events. One of the deepest truths of spiritual direction—and one of the most comforting—is that God is never limited by our circumstances, our readiness, or our imagination. He speaks through Scripture, sacraments, silence, people, interruptions, desires, resistance, suffering, beauty, feelings, and even our mistakes.
How God Communicates
Very early in my formation, I was taught a lesson I carry within me today:
God will use ANY means at ANY time to speak, guide, and interact with us.
Awareness is key to our Lenten practices and to Spiritual Direction. I have a directee who was caring for a close family member who was very ill and couldn’t feel a connection to God in prayer. A feeling of isolation crept in without God’s acknowledgement. He mentioned that there were people at work and family/friends always offering to help him in any way he needed. This may very well have been God working through other people to comfort this man. As your awareness grows, you will see God more actively at work in your life.
Building Good Habits
It is essential to become more aware of God; we need to spend time with Him. All relationships require spending time with the other person to get to know them. Our relationship with God is no different. Here are some basic building blocks to get you started:
- Find a time and place that are quiet, and that you can quiet yourself to be open to God.
- Try to keep your prayer time consistent every day.
- Reading scripture is critical to understand God’s word and its meaning for us. Try to read scripture every day if you can. Some people use the daily readings at USCCB.ORG for their daily scripture readings.
- It is important to take some time to listen for God’s response. Remember, it can be a voice, a thought, a feeling, etc. All too often, we talk to God without listening. Again, like any relationship, listening to the other person is critical.
Praying with Scripture
- There are two primary methods of prayer in Spiritual Direction: Meditation and Contemplation. Meditation uses your ability to reason to think about the scripture you have read and how it applies to you. In contemplative prayer, we use our imagination to insert ourselves into the scripture reading, either as one of the individuals or as someone there, watching the events unfold before us.
- Quieting your mind can take time to master. It is hard to keep our minds open in this busy world we live in. Start small – maybe 5-10 minutes, and increase as you start to be able to master this.
- At times, prayer may feel dry. You may not feel a connection over time. Change things up – maybe a different place, a different time, or maybe even try a devotional for a period of time instead of scripture. The smallest change may invigorate your prayer process.
- Do NOT get discouraged. Staying committed to the process is key.
For More Information
There is still time during the Lenten season to begin these practices, but you can start any time in your effort to get closer to God. If you have any questions or would like to explore Spiritual Direction further, please reach out to me at [email protected].
Please share your thoughts about this article in the “Comments” section.
Peace
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