Lent is more than halfway over, so where does that leave me? Stumbling along this thorny journey? What have I done to grow closer to Christ? What haven’t I done to grow closer to Christ? Oh, and what was I supposed to do to grow closer to Christ? How can I make these last few weeks of Lent more meaningful? How can I tap into the grace, love and the power of the resurrection?
Whenever I arrive at the midway mark of Lent, I’m always confronted with the same feelings: Guilt for not having lived up to my end of the bargain, frustration at my weakness but above all, hope. Hope for renewed strength. Hope for a transforming Holy Week where I have the chance to put my sins, my worries, my fears, my frustrations and my pain at the foot of the cross.
Don’t let your faults and failings or your forgotten Lenten promises keep you from taking advantage of the final weeks of your Lenten journey. It’s easy (at least for me) to throw up my hands and think, “Geez, I am such a goober. I’ve already messed up so much, what’s the use in
trying?” But that would show my biggest weakness of all – my failure to open my eyes to God’s forgiveness, his mercy, his graces and his goodness.
Isn’t that what Judas did? Think about it. Perhaps his worst sin of all – even worse than his betrayal of Jesus – was shutting out God, thinking that what he’d done was unforgivable.
So here’s what I’m going to do, so I won’t flunk this whole Lenten lesson. I’m going to embrace Sunday’s Gospel: “This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where He is from, yet, He opened my eyes” (John 9:30), stop feeling sorry for my sorry self and come to Jesus in my weakness, open my eyes to his love and reach out for his mercy.
Wonderful post, as usual!