Although Lent is a solemn period, it creates a stirring in the soul. There is something otherworldly about this period of 40 days that shifts the mind from the hustle and bustle of a fast paced existence to the slow movements in the interior life. The faithful pause and consider the Creator; they pause to meditate on their own lives and inward struggles. Failures, sins and vices begin in the heart before they ever manifest in the sensory organs. Just as a house is taken care of, so as Lent is a time of “spiritual spring cleaning.”
For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy. (Matthew 15:19 NABRE)
St. Teresa’s Time in the Spiritual Desert
Lent has often been described as a desert period due to its relation to the Israelites wandering for 40 years to enter the Promised Land and the Spirit leading Jesus into the desert to be tempted by Satan for 40 days. Desert spirituality can at times feel dry. We no longer sing the joyful Alleluia in Church and a more somber experience abounds. Perhaps nobody knows about this spiritual dryness more than St. Teresa of Calcutta. Known as a woman with a deep sense of love both for Jesus and people, she experienced this dark, dry season for over 40 years.
St. Teresa, then known as Mother Teresa, experienced an emptiness of God’s presence in her life. Even her beloved companions in the Missionaries of Charity were unaware of this excruciating pain. While encouraging them of his love and presence in their lives, she did not always experience that same feeling. As a canonized Saint, the Church recognizes her presence with God in Heaven now.
St. Teresa’s desert experience gives witness that feelings are not good indicators of reality. The Lord allowed her to experience this and to take comfort in the words of Jesus on the cross:
And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” Which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 NABRE)
St John Chrysostom explains these words in his Homily on the Gospel of Matthew:
“He spoke with the voice of Scripture, uttering a cry from the psalm. Thus even to his last hour he is found bearing witness to the sacred text.”
What Lent in the Desert Teaches Us
- Reliance on God. Desert experiences, dark nights of the soul and dryness in prayer draws one closer to the heart of God. Not even the greatest of the Saints experienced constant consolation from the Lord. It is in the dryness of the desert that we reach out for him to quench our thirst; Jesus is the living water.
- Fasting and abstinence during Lent cause us to experience hunger which brings about compassion for the poor. It is a spiritual exercise in suffering and gives us a hunger for that which is eternal. These disciplines help us to control our ravenous appetite for the carnal and exercise the virtue of Temperance.
- Feelings are not indicators of our faith nor our relationship to God. If Christ himself experienced 40 days in the desert, how much more shall his followers?
- Solitude. Desert experiences help us to silence the noise of an overly connected world. It allows time with our thoughts, mediate on God and the eternal, and insights into our own vices.
- Fighting temptation. Taking a lesson from Jesus in his own desert experience, we learn, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4 NABRE)
May the desert experience from Lent bring you peace, love, compassion and an increased awareness of the One who loves you more than his own life.
Read more from the author here.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In