lent post 1

open

"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."

+ Henri J.M. Nouwen (from Show Me the Way: Readings for Each Day of Lent)

(Via Crucis-Pablo Sanaguano Sanchez)

scripture

+ Old Testament: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7

+ Psalm: Psalm 32

+ New Testament: Romans 5:12-19

+ Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

reflection

O God, early in the morning I cry to you.

Help me to pray

and to concentrate my thoughts on you;

I cannot do this alone.

In me there is darkness,

but with you there is light;

I am lonely, but you do not leave me;

I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;

I am restless, but with you there is peace.

In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;

I do not understand your ways,

but you know the way for me...

Restore me to liberty,

and enable me to live now

that I may answer before you and before men.

Lord, whatever this day may bring,

Your name be praised.

Amen.

+ Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)

"All God's plans have the mark of the cross on them, and all His plans have death to self in them."

+ E.M. Bounds (1835-1913)

"The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God."

+ Psalm 51:17

"Remember what I say: if you would cleave to earthly pleasures, these are the things which will murder souls. There is no surer way to get a seared conscience and a hard impenitent heart, than to give way to the desires of the flesh and mind. It seems nothing at first, but it tells in the long run.

Consider what Peter says: "abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul" (1 Peter 2:11). They destroy the soul's peace, break down its strength, lead it into hard captivity, make it a slave."

+ John Charles Ryle (1816-1900)

close

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,

wherever He may send you.

May He guide you through the wilderness,

protect you through the storm.

May He bring you home rejoicing

at the wonders He has shown you.

+ In the name of the Father,

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

*community prayer, worship, and Bible study tonight at 6:50pm (wednesday, 3/16)