Ash Wednesday Reflections - Entering the Desert

I sit here in the dark cold church, in the quiet, thinking about the next 40 days.  Forty days of prayer and renewal.  This year is different.  I used to spend Lent contemplating how I fell short of Gods plan for me, how I had failed.  This year I am going to contemplate how much God loves me and what I can do for Him.  I want to spend these 40 days letting my heart grow bigger.  Once my heart grows bigger it can let in whatever needs to come in.

I am reading Fr Richard Rohr's Wonderous Encounters Scripture for Lent.  Today he says that we can start with a desire to desire.  We don't even have to know what to desire, but just desire to desire. The desires of our hearts will come from the Holy Spirit.  What is it that you desire deep down?  Not the desires of the world but what is deep down in your heart?  What is God calling you to do?

We don't need to know today what that desire is.  This time of Lent is a time strip away.  It is a time to pare down our world, to slow down our lives, to take time to think and to pray.  Remember this is a time to pray for ourselves, our family, friends, and most importantly our enemies and those who hate us.  Watch out for distractions.  The closer we come to God, the more we will be attached.  If we pray and act out of love we cannot go wrong.