Gospel: Mc 1,12-15
At that time, the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, where Satan tested him for forty days; he was with the wild beasts and the angels served him. After John's arrest, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming God's good news. He said, “The time is fulfilled; the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel”.
Fruit: To turn my life towards God's will.
Guidelines for reflection:
On Ash Wednesday, the Church invited us to begin a special journey of conversion. In this rite so full of meaning, the priest says to us: Convert and believe in the gospel. Perhaps we have heard many times about conversion. If the Church constantly invites us to conversion, it is because there must be something important behind it all. On our journey of conversion we need to answer three questions: Where am I going? Where am I? What steps can I take?
1. Where am I going?
Jorge Manrique, a 14th century Spanish author, wrote that our lives are like rivers: “We depart when we are born, / we walk while we live / and we arrive / at the time we pass away.”. Our life, also our spiritual life, is a path towards God, who will give us the definitive embrace on the day of death. But we are the ones who choose the path, who take this detour to the left now, and later we turn to the right. The main thing to reach our destination, although it may seem obvious, is to know where we are going. If we go out on a weekend to rest, before leaving we decide our destination. The same thing happens on our life's journey, and the text we are considering tells us clearly what our destination is: to believe in the gospel, that is, to live according to the gospel, according to its teachings and criteria, summarized in the new commandment of love: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”.
2. Where am I?
We know our destiny and perhaps our first step in conversion is to change our destiny, to put as an end in my life to act according to the Gospel and not according to my selfishness. But it is also very important, in this path of conversion, to know where I am. My starting point, in a journey, conditions the road I must take. It is different to arrive at a destination if I am in the North of that city or in the South. What is my attitude towards God at this moment? I may be clear about the end, the destination of my life, but I find myself in an attitude of total rest; I do not feel like moving towards that end, because I see the road as arduous and costly. Maybe my attitude is that of the pessimist, who sees the end too far away, the glass is always half empty, and does not find the strength to start walking. Or maybe my attitude is that of the walker, who is eager to reach his destination, and walks, some days with more courage than others, sometimes with more struggles than others. Where am I?
3. What steps can I take?
It is of little use for a climber to have a clear idea of the peak he wants to climb, to know perfectly well the location on a detailed map, if he remains sitting in his room, contemplating the map he has spread out at the finish line. Once we know where we want to get and from where we start, we have to get up and start walking, slowly but surely. We must take concrete steps, however small, in the direction of our destination. Let us apply these simple ideas to the experience of Lent: the Church teaches us that life, and especially Lent, is a pilgrimage, a journey. Let us think about what goal we want to achieve, what destination we want to reach at the end of these 40 days: to be more charitable in my home, to obey my parents better, to treat my children with more affection... Let us then see where we are, and what concrete steps we have to take to reach our goal.
Purpose: In a moment of prayer, I will offer to God a concrete action during this Lenten season seeking the conversion of my heart.
Listen also to our monthly online retreat.
You may be interested in: Conversion paths.
