As we begin our Lenten journey towards the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is a good time to be silent. The beauty of the Ash Wednesday Mass helps us to enjoy some quiet from our noisy days. Our church usually gives us a stripped down version of Mass with very little or no music. I love music and consider it prayer in another form but the simplicity of the Ash Wednesday Mass is enhanced, for me, by the quiet. Once you begin your Lenten journey, I encourage you to use St. Ignatius's Spiritual Exercises. There are others as well but I find the Jesuit experience to be the best for me. The exercises are meant to be spent in silence. St. Ignatius used the silence and solitude of recovering from injuries to open himself fully to the Lord. It was in this time, that Ignatius developed the exercises which are still being used today. But just reading about the exercises is not going to do that much for you. Take the time to do the self examens each say. Review the things that occurred throughout your day and discern what was helpful and what was not. Focusing on eternal life during this examen can really help. Something that appears to be catastrophic during our day is quickly cut down to size when we focus on the eternal. Once you have examined your day in the context of what God is trying to use you for, you should then open your Bible. Now we Christians are not a people merely of the book but of the word. And that word is a living, breathing word that is opened to us by the Holy Spirit. Taking into account the times that the people of the Bible lived in helps us to understand the stories more clearly. If the word is incarnate and living, we must hear it in our times and apply it to our world. So I pray that your Lenten journey bring you closer to our God. I will close with a traditional Celtic prayer.
I weave a silence on my lips.
I weave a silence into my mind.
I weave a silence within my heart.
I close my ears to distractions.
I close my eyes to attentions.
I close my heart to temptations.
Calm me, O Lord, as you calmed the storm.
Still me, O Lord, and keep me from harm.
Let all the tumult within me cease.
Enfold me, O Lord, in your peace.
Kurt Hilgefort, is a Catholic father of six who publishes his thoughts on his blog Shadows of Augustine . He responded to my seven question survey with the following answers. Kurt is the first layperson to respond to the seven question survey and I think that his experience is extremely relevant to me personally and I hope that you are inspired by his thoughts as well. If you would like to respond, please send an email to fellmananthony@gmail.com with your thoughts and I will be happy to publish them as well. 1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? The biggest challenge for me has been the whole dying to self thing. On an intellectual level, there are no barriers. It comes down to a matter of accepting the authority of the Church that Christ founded upon Peter. My challenge is not in the intellect, but rather in the will. The challenge for me has always been to continually seek conversion. I want to be transformed, but I want it to be over all ...