The Wilderness can be a very noisy place. Insects and Birds make a raucous, and wind and rain clatter through the trees, then in the heat of midday the silence can be so intense it is deafening.
Spiritual Wildernesses’ are the same: every time you come out of a quiet place its as if a bucket of ice water hits you in the face. ( excuse the mix of metaphors).
So in this time of lent in which we try to find inner peace as we reflect and as we repent and as we deepen our journey with God, how do we deal with the reality of our daily lives that suddenly are in such contrast to our spiritual walk. I would suggest that – this is the way of the cross. The holding of Life in tension, the balancing act of giving up and taking on, of laying down and taking up, seeking forgiveness and giving forgiveness, the way of interpreting pain, and transforming it into compassion.
As you journey with God through this Lent, my prayer is that you will be able to engage with the spiritual disciplines that enable you to overcome the difficulties of “walking with Jesus.”
I pray that prayer may deepen from conversation to conversion (meditate on the story of the women at the well to see Jesus at work with this).
I pray that your fasting will help you to relate to the needy,
I pray that contemplation will lead to you living intentionally,
I pray that alms-giving will come out of compassion and that Tithing will help you to see God as the sole provider in your life.
As you read scripture, may you encounter God’s love and His compassion and His forgiveness and His Grace and may you see all that God has done and how it is good for you!
I continue to pray that the Holy will open your eyes to see the Glory of God in your lives and encourage you to walk with Jesus all the way.
May God’s compassion fill your lives with compassion for others.
Fr. Andrew Manning
