Reflection for the first week of Lent

Psalm 34

from Psalms for Praying, an Invitation to Wholeness, Nan C. Merrill

I will bless the Beloved at all times;

a song of praise I will sing.

My soul speaks to the Beloved continually;

let all who suffer hear and be glad.

O, open your hearts, friends,

that your pain and loneliness

be turned to Love;

And then, we shall rejoice in the Beloved

together!

When I searched for Love, the Beloved

answered within my heart,

and all my fears flew away.

Look to the Beloved, and your

emptiness will be filled,

your face will radiate Love.

Last Wednesday at the Ash Wednesday service at the Spiritual Life Center, we reflected on turning from that which separated us from God, from the Beloved, and more fully embracing wholeness—God’s love. As we had ashes placed upon our foreheads, we considered our connection to one another and all things. In Judy Cannato’s words from her book Quantum Grace—“Remember that you are stardust, and to stardust you shall return. Remember that you are connected and to connection you return.” (p. 20) Judy challenges us to really believe that we are made in the image of God, and that as we embrace this truth, we are able to live more fully in freedom and love and reflect this transformative love of God to all creation around us.

As we enter into the first week of Lent, we are invited to be in touch with God’s call within us, to listen to our inner truth, to choose life—but this is not always a simple.

Judy Cannato explains,

We are to choose life, which will break bondage and repair breaches. When we get in touch with how often we fail to choose life—the times we seem to be unable to do the most basic act of discipleship—we will hopefully be brokenhearted. A broken heart that results from recognition of our own failures means that our hearts are open and can permit truth to come in. On Ash Wednesday we were challenged to rend our hearts and to allow them to remain open to God’s gaze so that we may be healed—us, together with all of creation. If we have been honest, we will have begun to spot those places that are in need of quantum grace.

Quantum Grace, Lenten Reflections on Creation and Connectedness, Cannato, Judy (p. 36)

Questions for reflection

• In what ways have I actively chosen life for myself this week—listening to God’s spirit within me, listening to my inner voice of truth?

• “What awarenesses break my heart open? What new insights and desires emerge from this open heart?”

• “What word does God speak to my heart today—and what is my response?”

Quotes taken from Quantum Grace, Lenten Reflections on Creation and Connectedness, Cannato, Judy (p. 39)