” No good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly”
Psalm 84:11
” I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content”
Philippians 4:11
Around the world, we Catholics are fasting along this 40 day journey of Lent, but are we truly fasting when we start the journey and never truly finish the 40 days? This 40 day journey is a marathon not a sprint, and unfortunatly within this broken and fast paced society, plus the fact that so many have walked away from the house of the Lord, nobody takes the time to be within the peace and love that Jesus showed us, instead we would rather fill our pockets with greed, which we can not take with us, when this journey ends. Popularity and praise can be far more dangerous for the Christian than persecution, cause they can turn us away from God, even without us knowing. True it is easy to lose perspective for what is around us, especially when we are bombarded with all the ugliness around us now. That peaceful quiet calm, is that place we all need, so we can get back to what this Lenten journey is about, and that is prayer, for which you can not pray with all the noise that has surrounded us in this society. True peace will come when we stop trying to please all, and focus on Jesus Christ, as the things that truly please, Christ never changes. Jesus Christ showed us how to resist temptation, but in a broken society who have walked away from Jesus, we will never see this and keep giving into all temptation.
When one runs a marathon, they train for months and even years, then at the start line they pace themselves as to not get too fast at the beginning, so they have enough in the tank to finish the marathon. Everything in this society has become a race, and as we get fast with everything, we never see any of the true beauty that is all around. This is so very true for this 40 day journey of Lent, so many will go to Ash Wednesday, which is the start of the Lenten journey, they say they are all in, but within a week or so, they give up, simply because they have lost the passion of the marathon, and the peace that Jesus is all about. So many have lost the stamina to keep going for the right things, but will go all out for the wrong things, that have no reason, or a place anywhere around us.
The Lenten journey is about Prayer and Sacrifice, by fasting, we are suppose to break away from our everyday routine and focus on our spiritual journey. Jesus walked through the desert for 40 days, as he was enduring the temptations of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry. The lenten journey is an important time for us Catholics, to keep the faith alive in Jesus Christ as well as ourselves, so we can resist all temptations, as we stay within the peaeful calm of the Lord, to prepare ourselves for the end of the journey and yes, as much as we tend to think today, this journey will end and all the material things will get left behind, cause we can not take them with us. Now I get that in the darkness it becomes hard to see where you are going, but when you unleash the light within, there is no darkness that you can not see through. Prayer is the key ingrediant to this 40 day journey, so creating a space of quiet away from the noise is critical to finishing the meal in front of us, as now we can be full without over stuffing, and prep ourselves for when the journey ends.
Jesus went into the desert to pray and be closer with his father, as he prepared himself for when the journey comes to an end. For me, I tend to take to the mountains, so the higher I go, then the closer I am to God, or maybe in my kayak, away from the noise, so I can be at peace with my thoughts and my prayers. it is not hard to pray and have a conversation with God, but you do need faith in him, to have any hope moving forward. This whole thing of, faith, hope, praying or fasting, will never take place if you are not true to meeting with God when this journey ends, so if you want to meet God himself at the end of the journey, then start by being true to yourself, forget about the noise around you, forget about keeping up with the jones’, forget about trying to please those around you, as the only one you should be trying to please, is God himself, for judgment day comes to us all, and it’s then that we learn our fate.
To walk through this 40 day journey, takes strength, courage and faith. without any, then you are walking dangourously into the hands of Satan, as he is waiting to tempt you with anything and everything, to keep you from being truly of who you are. Just as Satan tempted Jesus in the desert, he to is waiting to tempt us all as well, and by the way this society is, looks like a lot have taken the bait of Satan and walked away from the house of the Lord. But no matter of who you have become, Jesus is always there to forgive no matter what, he will welcome us back with open arms, but we first need to truly walk this 40 day journey from start to finish and never swaying in our direction, or giving up to soon, because of our impatience. This 40 day journey may seem like a marathon, but it is the way for us all, to get back on the train ride of life, get back to having the belief in Jesus Christ, as well as ourselves, as we now prep ourselves to meet with God, when this journey ends and judgment day has come.
Now are you ready for judgment day and meeting God himself? Most of us will say yes only because we are to afraid or to arrogant to say no, we are so caught up in the fast lane, that we never take the time to get within the peace of the Lord to properly pray for what we need. We get so overwhelmed by the darkness and the ugliness, that we see nothing else in front of us, so we then give up trying to see any light at all, and when in the darkness, we then subject ourselves to the temptations of Satan, which then lead us further into the darkness, as we now lose sight of who we truly are. The blood of Jesus Christ is always within us, his love is always within us also, but when we never acknowledge that, then we further suppress it deeper within, as if it is not there, this is why we need to take the plunge and truly walk this 40 day journey of Lent, so we can not only accept Jesus Christ, but acknowledge that his blood flows freely within us, to fill our hearts with his love. When we do this, then the light within will shine brightly, so bright that no darkness will ever be too dark for us to see, that Jesus does love us and through that love, then the light of salvation will guide us to the path of rightousness, as now we can ready ourselves for the journeys end and the meeting we all long for, the meeting of God himself, as he welcomes us into Heaven, where the love and the beauty are all around and very lit up, with zero darkness anywhere.
” Prayer is the key ingrediant to this 40 day journey, so creating a space of quiet away from the noise is critical to finishing the meal in front of us, as now we can be full without over stuffing, and prep ourselves for when the journey ends”.
” That peaceful calm is something we all lack in this society, which keeps us grounded, keeps our faith in Jesus as well as ourselves, so his love will fill our hearts and his blood flows freely within our veins”.