Jesus said, “The pure in heart shall see God,” and we pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”  How does a monastic keep a pure heart?  By keeping it according to the Word! (Psalm 119:9)  We say and acknowledge again, the Word of God is powerful in our lives, but to keep it we must know it and pray according to it, and hide it in our hearts.

The liturgical season of Lent is upon us.  The essence of Lent is to “surrender” something for the love of God, from Ash Wednesday (March 5 this year) until Easter, and for the purpose of preparing our souls to remember the passion of Jesus Christ.  Shall we order our days for Lent, that we might order our souls, bringing them into a revival of wonder, gratitude, and humility before God?

Participants often say, “I’m giving up … candy or coffee or desserts … for Lent.”  Let us, in Cor Unum, make a surrender that leads us to MORE OF GOD.  Here in this monastery, we will “give up” God emptiness!  Let us fix our love upon the love of God in the gift of His Son.  Forty days without desserts might be of good benefit; forty days of increased time in God’s Word and Presence will  revive our souls.

Here are a few suggestions to consider during this week before Ash Wednesday.  We might …

give up eating between meals and give God an extra portion of time … 20-60 minutes to spend in prayer or Lectio Divina

give up twenty or thirty minutes of sleep in the morning and spend them in worship; we can use a hymnal or the Psalms

give up one meal each day and spend that time quietly in the Presence of God, in adoration

give up all gossip and all complaining, and recite a worshipful or an uplifting passage of Scripture three times every day

give up doubt and worry and give God two seasons of thanksgiving daily, trying to be thankful for at least 100 things

give up one television program and spend the time reading through the crucifixion accounts in the Gospels until Easter

We remember what Mother Theresa said to Henri Nouwen as he poured out his difficulties to her: “If you will spend one hour each day worshiping God, and never do anything you know you shouldn’t do, you will be alright.”  We could give up nothing else, and our lives would begin to change dramatically, if we would make this our practice during Lent and beyond!

For all who are willing to share their Lenten commitment, go to the comments block on the Cor Unum website.  We will remember you in prayer, and you might be an encouragement to others as well.

Tomorrow, a word about the resistance we will surely face . . . and how to overcome it!