Entering into the Desert

Lent is now upon us.  As a season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, there is a lot we often try to do in order to make the most of these 40 days.  Ultimately, Lent is about going into the desert.  Just as Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit.  He is calling us to the desert too.

During Lent, we are invited to a barren, desolate place.  While we may think of the desert landscapes of the world, we don’t have to leave the current environments we are in to follow Jesus into the desert.  We are invited to the spiritual desert of our lives.  This is a place away from the business of our lives that allows us to become closer to Jesus.  The desert we are led into during Lent allows us to experience greater silence, deeper prayer, and a stronger yearning for Christ.  It is a place where we are asked to remove the distractions in our lives, detach ourselves from material items, worldly desires, sinful habits, and all that keeps us away from God.

When we empty ourselves of everything that is not Jesus, we will find ourselves searching and hungry.  In this hunger and emptiness, we will be reminded that it is only Jesus who can satisfy us.  There are many ways we can allow Jesus to fill us.  We can spend more time in prayer and silence, attend eucharistic adoration, add in daily mass, go to confession, deny ourselves of certain comforts through fasting, serve others, give to a charitable organization, just to name a few things.

During our time in the desert, we need to refocus on what really matters: Jesus’ suffering and ultimate sacrifice for us.  In the desert we don’t have to be weighed down by the expectations the world has for us.  Instead of hearing what the world is telling us, we can better listen to what God wants for us.  Spending time in the desert gives us the opportunity to learn how to surrender ourselves completely to God and His will for us.  Wandering through the desert will bring us closer to Jesus and help us to experience his love more deeply.

Just as Jesus was tempted, we too will be challenged, stretched, and asked to confront our own weaknesses on our journey through the desert.  When tempted by Satan, Jesus placed his trust in God the Father.  Jesus knew the Father would provide for Him.  May we all follow in the footsteps of Jesus through the desert this Lent, trusting that He will always walk with us.