Heading into the Homestretch of Lent

This has not been the Lent I thought it would be. I must say that every year, but somehow it always surprises me a little.

No matter how we plan, or the expectations we set for ourselves, the actual Lenten journey never seems to look the way we might have hoped it would.

This has been a very Lent-y Lent for our family here, as we said goodbye to my father-in-law earlier this month. I have so many thoughts I would like to share about him. I would like to write about grief and sadness and gratitude and peace. But I’m also still reflecting. Meanwhile, as we look ahead to the start of Holy Week, I am trying to put myself in a place spiritually to carry all those emotions into this last stretch of Lent.

Whether this has been a Lent of joy or sorrow or new discoveries or loss for you, I imagine you are bringing many emotions and experiences into Holy Week. Weeks ago, way back on Ash Wednesday, we didn’t know what Holy Week would look like. But this year I am thinking of those last days of Jesus’ journey to the cross.

On Palm Sunday, he rode a donkey into Jerusalem, greeted by people waving palms and yelling, “Hosanna!” Such excitement! And yet how quickly that changes with betrayal, Jesus’ arrest, and the trials and suffering that lead up to Good Friday.

Sometimes our lives can feel like that, too. You think life might go one way. Then it takes a different direction, and you’re on a new path—one you might not have chosen, one that might be helping you grow and change, but that you never would have asked for.

In many ways, our Lenten journey chooses us. But we also have the chance to make some decisions ourselves. And, whether Lent seems to have passed us by or caught us up in a whirlwind, we do have the chance to lean into the meaning of these final days.

No matter what you’ve experienced since Ash Wednesday, Jesus is longing to be closer to you. He wants to be with you, to walk through these final days with his hand in yours, guiding you to a deeper, fuller relationship with him.

Wherever we are emotionally and spiritually, we can be sure that we are his, and that he is ready and able to meet us exactly where we are. Whether we feel strong or vulnerable or certain of our future steps or seeking guidance, he is ready to greet us with open arms.

He will wash our feet, carry our cross for us, and die for us—showing the greatest possible love. And then he will rise on Easter Sunday and change the history of humanity.

“As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus’ thirst,” St. Teresa of Kolkata told us. “He knows your weakness. He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you.”

I hope these last days of Lent will bring you the chance to experience God’s love in your life in personal, meaningful ways. May his love embrace you as we begin this last part of our Lenten journey, and may you find in these days the hope and peace that only God can give.

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