The fifth week of Lent is upon us. Already? Yep. Can you believe it? I feel like it was just a few days ago that I was gearing up for 40 days of prayer & penance. The beginning of Lent is always a great opportunity to take a good look at ourselves, examine the areas we need to change, and then go about making commitments to do so. And here we are 5 weeks later. Is anyone else finding themselves frustrated at the ways they’ve failed to remain faithful to the Lenten commitments made? Wishing the last four weeks of Lent had resulted in perfect sanctity rather than a reminder of our weakness? The perfectionist in me certainly is. But as I took a few minutes to reflect on this, I realized that this is in fact what Lent is all about. Recognizing that we cannot become holy on our own. Admitting that we need a Savior. And the good news is this: It is precisely in our weakness that Christ meets us!
How many times do we go to prayer attempting to have it all together? Trying to present ourselves to God as worthy and pious? This isn’t what He desires. He desires our honesty, our vulnerability. The reality is that we don’t deserve his love and we will never have it all together without his grace. Certainly we are called to strive for virtue and proactively receive grace into our lives. But we cannot achieve perfection on our own. The woman at the well couldn’t quench her own thirst. The man born blind couldn’t make himself see. Lazarus couldn’t raise himself from the dead. Neither can we make ourselves holy. As we enter into this last week of Lent and approach the Triduum, let us come before Christ stripped of everything and allow Him to meet us in our weakness.
How many times do we go to prayer attempting to have it all together? Trying to present ourselves to God as worthy and pious? This isn’t what He desires. He desires our honesty, our vulnerability. The reality is that we don’t deserve his love and we will never have it all together without his grace. Certainly we are called to strive for virtue and proactively receive grace into our lives. But we cannot achieve perfection on our own. The woman at the well couldn’t quench her own thirst. The man born blind couldn’t make himself see. Lazarus couldn’t raise himself from the dead. Neither can we make ourselves holy. As we enter into this last week of Lent and approach the Triduum, let us come before Christ stripped of everything and allow Him to meet us in our weakness.
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