Lent. It is a beautiful time of deep reflection. We are given this special opportunity to spend more time alone, one on one with Jesus, in the Blessed Sacrament. That hour alone in his company goes by so fast, we barely scratch the surface in entering into his presence with the outpouring of grace he wants to give us. Have we given Jesus our time at all this Lent? Has he placed within your heart the desire to spend just one hour in adoration every day before mass? When we give to Jesus our attention, our thought, our prayer, our heart, he creates within us a desire to change. What is it exactly you would like to change about yourself this Lenten Season? Jesus is waiting patiently for you to come to him and be still for a while in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It is there we meet Him, and give Him our heart. Some hearts are so broken that only our creator can heal. Some hearts are so confused, full of anger, full of anxiety, full of fear, and none of the above come from God. But God can take away from us the things that set us back and set us away from loving him, knowing him, and serving him. You may ask, how on earth did I get to such a place in my life that its careening out of control? In order to hold all things together, we need quiet, and we need to hear God speak through the silence of our hearts. He helps us make sense out of the nonsense in our lives. He heals the broken hearted. He loves the most hardened of hearts. And he is capable of removing the most hardened heart and replacing it with a new heart. I was in Naples Florida at Ave Maria Church and I was kneeling praying very deeply to God while the tabernacle was opened I had begged him to give me a new heart, and suddenly I had felt his hand come into my body full of pain, confusion, and remove my old heart and gave me a new heart full of his love. I felt able to love again. Ask and you shall receive. Knock and the door will be opened to you. We can be renewed in our flesh. Jesus wants us to become our best self in Him. And at that point in time, I was ready to change, mature, and overcome every setback that made me fall into sin. That new heart is serving God right now as I write to you hoping to inspire you to grow, to let go and let God enter in and give him all of you! We can live much better lives in Christ, in holiness, and especially when we go to him in prayer and ask for what we need and if it is in alignment with his perfect will, our request will be granted. I am at a point where I feel comfortable in asking God exactly for the needs of my heart. Can you get to that point? I believe all good stems from the heart, and it is important to begin there. Equally said, bad too, can form into ones heart, and that needs tending. We cannot ignore what is happening deep within us, we must look and assess and determine the course of action that we need to take in order to come out of it better. But more importantly for this to be done correctly, we definitely need to pray. And through prayer we ask God to assist us with our concern, and trust that he will respond, but don't have a high level of expectation because sometimes we have to lower the bar and go about the process slowly. God has his reasons. And we come to understand them in his perfect timing. His timing is never our timing. Remember that so that you do not get discouraged in the process. Be thankful that you have an awareness to address your concern and trust God will do it with you and through you with his love. Take the time to stare at the crucifix at your church. Take the time to stare at the Pieta. Mother Mary holding her Son, lying lifelessly in her arms. That meditation is a powerful one.
