Is your life a Lent?

Sometimes we choose our Lent. Sometimes God chooses it for us. And when God invites us to walk through the valley of sorrows for a season, it is never easy, but there is a way to do it. Jesus is our answer.

Accepting Jesus’ Cross

Three years ago, God chose my Lent. I had no time or space to think about Lent because I was perpetually on the cross.

In those seasons, the invitation is to accept the Cross.

There’s no ego or even the slightest ulterior motive. It’s sheer abandonment to the will of God and an embrace of the Cross in complete dependency.

Purifying, crushing.

If this is your Lent this year, take heart. There is always resurrection. The Lord does not bring low without the intention to raise up.

In the meantime, our solace is to praise and thank Him. This may sound saccharine and maybe even trite, but it's actually the grit of sainthood. There is nothing easy about praising and thanking God when your life is falling apart.

Loving God in your suffering

Such offering requires a fuller trust and a deeper love. A love of God for His own sake.

Praise and thanksgiving in the midst of a Lent chosen for you by God will yield far sweeter fruit than a Lent half-heartedly embraced with self-reliance.

If you find yourself in such a season, know that there will come a time again in which you prayerfully choose your penance in peace. In the meantime, be assured of my prayers for you.

You are beloved, remembered, and helped.

Family Lenten Prayer in Tough Seasons

If life feels like Lent right now, then I'm venturing to guess that you don't have much bandwidth to plan and prepare for the kind of family Lent you have envisioned. You're just trying to make sure everyone's teeth get brushed. I get it.

I also get that you want to do something for Lent. The liturgical year is an anchor for us—a gift to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus no matter the circumstances surrounding us. We are wise to tether ourselves to the rhythms of the Church.

Our picture study on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary might be a source of joy for your family in this season!  

The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.” -Sister Lucia dos Santos of Fatima

 

A one-on-one with Jesus

If you are longing for one-on-one time with the Lord this Lent, join me. I had the honor of pouring my heart in a devotional I recently wrote: Under the Olive Tree from Blessed is She. This season we will walk together to the Mount of Olives to console the Heart of Jesus in his suffering and be consoled in ours. It is an invitation to walk with Jesus into the garden and allow Him to restore the garden of your own heart with His merciful love.

Carrying your Cross with Jesus and Mary

Jesus and our Mother Mary are never far from a suffering heart. In fact, they are never closer to our hearts than when we are struggling. Let them carry the cross with you, let them be your peace, the peace beyond all understanding that your heart longs for. 

If your life is a Lent right now, please know that my heart is with you. How can I lift you up in prayer? Let me know in the comments.

Ready to dive deeper? 

Here are 4 ways to fill your nets... 

1. Memorize Bible verses with your children easily with our FREE guide: Stocking the Storehouses

 2. Make your dreams of family prayer a reality with The Daily Feast framework, making it possible in just a few minutes a day. This free guide shows you how.

 3. Want to steward your own prayer life? Check out this Scripture prayer journal we made just for you.

 4. Looking to level-up in your family faith formation? Join over 10,000 families that use our resources. We make open-and-go, family-style resources to make your role as primary catechist easy AND delightful. Click here to browse!