From The Desk of Deacon Judy

Lenten Disciplines

As we journey through our 40 days of wilderness, many of us choose Lenten Disciplines, things we may give up or things we may take on, or both. Lent is a sacred time to deepen our relationship with God and with each other.

Thank you, Father Rob, for forwarding the Episcopal Relief & Development Lenten Meditations. Jerusalem Greer is a gifted writer and faithful servant of our Lord. Her reflection questions allow us to ponder our own relationship with God. For example, today she asks us: “How do you experience God being present to you especially in the wilderness?”

The Threshold Center at St. Stephen’s Birmingham ( https://www.thethresholdcenter.org/ ) and Contemplative Outreach Birmingham ( https://www.contemplativeoutreachbirmingham.org/ ) offer opportunities to deepen our prayer life and enrich our spiritual journey, during the Lenten Season and all year long.

My recent communication from Contemplative Outreach Birmingham reminded me of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Prayer of Examen as a Lenten Discipline:

“Lent, our season of reflection, repentance, and renewal is here, a time of drawing near to God through prayer and examining our hearts and lives. One powerful practice during this season is the Prayer of Examen, a form of prayerful reflection that helps us become more aware of God’s presence and our own spiritual condition. The Examen invites us to pause, look back on our day, and ask:

1. Where did I see God today?

2. When did I turn away from Him?

3. What grace do I need to grow closer to Jesus Christ?”

May we journey a holy and meaningful Lent.

Let us pray the collect for First Sunday of Lent (Prayers for the Pilgrimage, p. 58):

O Lord, you who discipline those whom you love, grant me a special grace this Lent, I pray, to embrace the disciplines that would enable me to love you with all of my body, so that my body might be freed from the passions that draw me away from you and be filled with the passions that draw me near in order that might more readily fulfill your good purposes for me as your disciple. I pray this in the name of Jesus, the One who calls me his own. Amen.

Lenten Blessings,

Judy Q+