1st Sunday of Lent

03-01-2020Weekly Reflection©2020 Liturgical Publications, Inc.

What weighs you down and keeps you trapped? Maybe you are trying to do too much and please too many people. It could be that your fragile self-image is always pushing you to prove yourself and find success. Anxiety and worry, ultimately due to a lack of faith, can quickly tempt you with despair. It could be that you are listening to too many voices and allowing all of the negativity that is present erode the genuine goodness in your heart and in all of God’s creation. Or maybe you struggle too much with fear. Perhaps so much so that you are far too preoccupied with your own agenda and goals and left with little psychological or spiritual room to consider and respond to the plight of your neighbor. Do anger, bitterness, stubbornness, and hatred have homes in your heart? How about greed, gluttony, pride, apathy, or lust?

For many, their passions and what can be found on the internet are their downfall, and they are robbed of their inner life and freedom. What is it, specifically, that tempts you away from a childlike trust in God? Define this and use the next few weeks to allow God to chart you a course away from them. Silence, being alone, grace, honesty, struggle, tears, and dryness are all found in the desert. You will also find God and your true self in this holy place. Ready to go?

Hoy es el Primer Domingo de Cuaresma. Cuaresma significa cuarenta días y es el tiempo donde se prepara la fiesta más importante del año, "La Pascua".

La Cuaresma nos recuerda el periodo de preparación para un verdadero encuentro con Dios. La Cuaresma nos invita al arrepentimiento y a la conversión. Es un tiempo sagrado para orar, dar limosna y ayunar.

La Cuaresma dio inicio el 26 de febrero y termina hasta el Jueves Santo, antes de la Misa de la Cena del Señor. La Oración colectiva nos ayuda a ver con claridad el propósito de la Cuaresma:

"Concédenos, Dios todopoderoso, que, por las prácticas anuales del sacramento cuaresmal, progresemos en el conocimiento del misterio de Cristo y traduzcamos su efecto en una conducta irreprochable."