Today is Ash Wednesday and marks the season of Lent – 40 days of preparation before Easter. I didn't come from a Christian tradition that celebrated the church calendar, but I have found practices like this deeply spiritual. It's a time of reflection, fasting and prayer that helps me to focus on spiritual things I typically neglect. I would encourage you to take part in this season, even to a small degree. Here are some places to help you: Sacred Space – Lent 2009 and Per Christum – Lenten Resources Online. Here's a prayer by Henri Nouwen to start you out:
Dear Lord Jesus,
Today the Lenten season begins. It is a time to be with you in a special way, a time to pray, to fast, and thus to follow you on your way to Jerusalem, to Golgotha, and to the final victory over death.
I am still so divided. I truly want to follow you, but I also want to follow my own desires and lend an ear to the voices that speak about prestige, success, human respect, pleasure, power and influence. Help me to become deaf to these voices and more attentive to your voice, which calls me to choose the narrow road to life.
I know that Lent is going to be a very hard time for me. The choice for your way has to be made every moment of my life. I have to choose thoughts that are your thoughts, words that are your words, and actions that are your actions. There are no times or places without choices. And I know how deeply I resist choosing you.
Please, Lord, be with me at every moment and in every place. Give me the strength and the courage to live this season faithfully, so that, when Easter comes, I will be able to taste with joy the new life which you have prepared for me.
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