We begin Lent tomorrow!
In our previous post, we invited you to enter into Lent with intentionality and a heart set on the Lord, the Who of this season.
The first intentional step you can take is to attend Ash Wednesday mass. As simple as that! For some of us,this could mean having to wake up earlier for a morning mass, or forgoing our lunch break to attend mass at noon. The second intentional step is to join the universal Church in abstinence and fasting.
Bring into prayer any inconvenience or discomfort you may face in taking these two steps – they are the very materials to help clarify what is the One Thing necessary! Offer your observance of the day for the intentions of those who are struggling. You are not alone.
You can find the Ash Wednesday Mass schedule for all the parishes on https://mycatholic.sg/schedules
If at this point you find yourself feeling unprepared, and are still unsure of what you want to commit to this Lent, there is still time! Spend some time to reflect and ask God how you can love Him more this Lent! Then make a commitment, one that is intentional and directed towards a deeper love for Christ. Rena, Sean and I would like to share with you our personal Lenten commitments here – hopefully they can encourage you!
At the end of the day, our Lenten journey is not defined by how big our commitment is or how perfectly we lived it out, but it is about keeping our eyes on who we are moving towards; it is about Jesus!
Finally, I would like to share a useful practice to enrich your Lenten journey, which is to take up the practice of journaling. Journaling helps us remain accountable and keep us in touch with our thoughts and feelings through this Lenten journey. You can set aside time at the end of each day to reflect on your day: how you feel, what challenges you faced, what blessed you, and the graces you need to keep the Lord as the One Thing Necessary!
If you need a guide, you can refer to this examen prayer card https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/examen-prayer-card/
After doing the examen, take a few minutes to journal down your takeaways. This practice reminds you that the Lord is with you as you navigate your day, and is a way to converse with Him and listen to His invitations.
As we begin this Lent, I pray that we may keep our eyes on Jesus, and continue to take each step with the joy of knowing that He walks with us. Wishing you a blessed Ash Wednesday!
Our commitments & hopes for this Lenten season
Aloisius
This Lent I desire to prioritize Jesus in my life by committing to reorder my time and schedule around Him. I seek to do this by: placing God first in my day by consciously prioritizing quiet moments with Him, in the morning before I start my day and in the evening; refraining from excessive consumption of media, such as social media and video games, to create space in my heart and mind to hold Him through my day; and slowing down to avail myself and recognize the presence of Jesus in every person.
My hope is for this season to be a blessed time of discovering the possibilities of being with God and hearing His voice of love in the many, seemingly unremarkable, moments. And I pray that it will be a Spirit-filled Lent for all of us, may our journey bring us deeper into the warm embrace of our gentle and loving God.
Rena
As I enter into this season of Lent, I am hopeful in the ways God will draw me to Himself. I desire to recenter my life around God so that every decision I make is led by Him. In order to focus on His gentle voice and remain focused on His call to me, I am intentionally setting aside more quiet time with the Lord in adoration during the week, especially before or after mass. I also want to grow my reliance on God as He is the source of all hope and strength. Whenever I am met with difficult situations whether big or small, I want to always turn first to the Lord by saying a short prayer and offering it up to God. Cultivating this practice will help me to let Him guide my thoughts and feelings before reacting or turning to other things.
My hope for this Lent is for it to be a time of rediscovering God’s love and presence in my life. To be intentional in building my relationship with Him and the church as I actively listen to His voice. My prayer for you is that you too, will be open to the movement of God in your life this season, and may it be a transformative and refreshing encounter of God’s love for you.
Sean
The story of Mary and Martha strikes me deeply in this season of navigating the transition from student to working adult life. At times, I feel pulled in multiple directions by work, family, friends, ministry, all while trying to give my best to God in every area. There is a desire to be like Mary, to sit with the Lord amidst the busyness and intentionally listen to Him. I hope that the daily Eucharist and nightly journaling will make space for this, especially during this season of Lent.
As I ask the Lord the same question that I posed in the Primer: “Lord, what do you desire to do in me?”, I feel invited to allow my heart to be stretched and offer this season up for others. Every morning before work, I will commit to thinking of 5 different people / groups of people to offer each decade of the Rosary for. I also desire to be more generous with my time in meeting brothers to share faith, something that I found difficult to do when time became so scarce as a working adult.
My hope for this Lent is to strip away all things that distract me from God, so that I may hear Him speak clearly into my life. May the Lord open up my heart to love others and lead them to Him as well. I pray that we may fall deeper in love with God in this season, and reorder our lives around Him.
