Lent approaches
Lent is extrememely early this year, with Ash Wednesday next week. An interesting collision of cultures for me will be that on Wednesday we will have Ash Wednesday Mass, and on Thursday our Chun Jie (Spring Festival, aka Chinese New Year) Mass.
For me, I am always surprised by the timing of Lent, regardless of when it occurs in the calendar. This year I can blame it on its early arrival. Even if Ash Wednesday weren't for another four weeks I would still be caught unprepared. But that's me.
Last year I was in a fog when Ash Wednesday rolled around, unable to see my way through the shock of no longer being an expectant family. I really couldn't commit myself to any significant Lenten penance or devotion, or so I thought. I believed I was unable to focus on anything other than daily tasks-at-hand.
I had a copy of Michael Dubriuel's Power of the Cross. This book is an any-time-of-year daily devotional, but he has an option for using it specifically for Lent. The daily entries include brief passages from scripture, some explanations of these readings, and then some points ("Ask, Seek, Knock, Transform") to guide the reader to understand how we can connect the Passion of Jesus Christ to our lives.
Each day is only a few pages of reading. Normally when I think of Lenten commitments I think of people who pray several extra rosaries a day, or attend daily Mass, or other things that can consume several penitential hours of their day. Reading a few pages a day seemed a low-enough level commitment for me. However, the final section of each day's chapter, the "Ask, Seek, Knock, Transform" helped the reading linger with me much of the day. Though I spent only some minutes reading the Scripture passages and the Durbruiel text, I spent more time during that day considering, pondering, and praying over some of the questions posed each day. I think that made this book for me a great Lenten companion. While I couldn't carve out focused hours of my day, I could spend hours during the day thinking about the Passion and the Cross and what these mean to us.
This book, The Power of the Cross, is definitely worth considering for any time of year, but definitely Lent.
For me, I am always surprised by the timing of Lent, regardless of when it occurs in the calendar. This year I can blame it on its early arrival. Even if Ash Wednesday weren't for another four weeks I would still be caught unprepared. But that's me.
Last year I was in a fog when Ash Wednesday rolled around, unable to see my way through the shock of no longer being an expectant family. I really couldn't commit myself to any significant Lenten penance or devotion, or so I thought. I believed I was unable to focus on anything other than daily tasks-at-hand.
I had a copy of Michael Dubriuel's Power of the Cross. This book is an any-time-of-year daily devotional, but he has an option for using it specifically for Lent. The daily entries include brief passages from scripture, some explanations of these readings, and then some points ("Ask, Seek, Knock, Transform") to guide the reader to understand how we can connect the Passion of Jesus Christ to our lives.
Each day is only a few pages of reading. Normally when I think of Lenten commitments I think of people who pray several extra rosaries a day, or attend daily Mass, or other things that can consume several penitential hours of their day. Reading a few pages a day seemed a low-enough level commitment for me. However, the final section of each day's chapter, the "Ask, Seek, Knock, Transform" helped the reading linger with me much of the day. Though I spent only some minutes reading the Scripture passages and the Durbruiel text, I spent more time during that day considering, pondering, and praying over some of the questions posed each day. I think that made this book for me a great Lenten companion. While I couldn't carve out focused hours of my day, I could spend hours during the day thinking about the Passion and the Cross and what these mean to us.
This book, The Power of the Cross, is definitely worth considering for any time of year, but definitely Lent.
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