Each year Lent can become a powerful catalyst to deepen our personal relationships: with God, with others, and yes, even within ourselves. In last week’s reflection, Sue highlighted how Lent is derived from the word “lengthen” and referred to a sort of springtime for our souls. Lent gives us TIME for intentional reflection in order to deeply refine, responsibly refurbish and renew our spiritual life.

The songs of John Michael Talbot always usher me into a holy space. His musical rendition of Psalm 51 is one such transport.

“Create for me, a clean heart, Oh God, let me be like You in all my ways. Give me Your strength, teach me Your song. Shelter me in the shadow of Your wings. For we are Your righteousness, if we die to ourselves and live through Your death. Then we shall be born again to be blessed in Your Love.”

Tom, in our first Lenten reflection quoted the wisdom of Pope Francis, “. . . it is prayer that transforms the day into grace, or better, transforms us . . .”

In his book, I Heard God Laugh, Matthew Kelly boldly states: “Nothing will change your life so completely, absolutely, and forever like really learning how to pray.”

As I reflected upon this challenging statement, I realized the sobering truth that throughout my entire cradle-Catholic upbringing and in spite of my Catholic education, no one actually “taught” me to pray. I certainly learned how to “say prayers” . . . But was I ever given concise directions on how to personally communicate with our Lord and Savior?

Matthew 22:37 instructs each of us to, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.” Prayer, “life’s essential habit,” links these three aspects of our humanity to the Holy Trinity. God truly wants to be our friend by communicating through prayer.

Life is about relationships and all relationships take TIME. Lent offers us TIME to start paying more attention to our inner being . . . “The soul re-orients us towards what matters most.” namely our personal relationship with God. Have you been taking care of your soul? Using a scale of one to ten, how’s your prayer life? What better TIME than using Lent 2021 to reflect, refine, refurbish and renew our prayer life? Prayer is the linchpin of spiritual growth. “The purpose of a daily prayer time is not to know everything there is to know about prayer but rather be a powerful experience of prayer.” So, how does one “experience” prayer?

Whether you have ten or thirty spare minutes, consider using some TIME in the remaining days of Lent to visit the Blessed Sacrament - if not daily, perhaps once a week to sit with God “in His classroom of silence.” If you want to be in a valuable relationship, you must spend TIME listening . . . In yesterday’s reading (March 10th) from God Calling, A.J. Russell writes: “You have to hush the heart and bid all your senses be still before you can attune to heaven’s music.”

May I suggest that rather than telling God what we want Him to do for us, we ask Him the “BIG QUESTION”: God, what do You think I should do?” Then sit patiently and in confidence by expecting nothing and receiving everything . . . Our relationship with God is meant to be a force that stimulates growth and change.

I am gradually learning how to pray and carefully listen more during my personal prayer time or in a church visit to the Blessed Sacrament:

· Settle my heart - possibly by listening to or humming a worship song in my mind, like Talbot’s “Create for me, a clean heart, Oh God . . .”

· “Thank God for His blessings and ask Him to open my heart and mind to the wisdom He desires to share with me during this time of prayer.”

· Give praise and glory to God for all His attributes - goodness, faithfulness, power and might, wisdom, grace, healing, ever-presence, unchanging love, forgiveness, etc.

· Then read a short passage from the Bible: Matthew 5: 1-12; Matthew 6: 25-34; Matthew 7: 16-20, 1 Peter 5: 7; or Romans 12: 12, for example.

· Take about three minutes to speak to God in my heart about the verses:

· What the passage is saying to me, how it challenges me, how it encourages me, and how it convicts me.

· Close in prayer: “Lord, God, thank you for these moments and for all the inspirations and resolutions You have placed in my heart. “Give me the courage to live them into my life.” AMEN

Learning to spend Tender Intimate Moments (with the) Everlasting is how I turn away from self toward God so He can become the central life guide He yearns to be for me . . .

De Colores,

Jacqui Cecalupo

Click here to hear the John Michael Talbot song "Create in Me a Clean Heart"