Lent- A Time To Remember God's Love For Us

We are more than halfway through the Lenten season. Easter will soon be upon us and it is meant to be a joyful time when we celebrate God’s love for us.

In these troubling times it is sometimes difficult to remember just how much God personally loves each one of us. Where is God when we are suffering? Where is God in what is happening to Australia’s flood victims? Where is God in the war between Ukraine and Russia? God certainly isn’t the cause of any suffering …but we may wonder, if God truly loves us, why doesn’t He intervene?

Well… just imagine if He did. If God took away our free will and ‘fixed’ all of our bad choices, and intervened and stopped all suffering, there would be no such thing as compassion, empathy, forgiveness, courage, tolerance, patience, mercy, justice, solidarity … all of the things which make humanity beautiful. There would be no need for any of these in a perfect world! We would have no sense of empathy or responsibility, no feelings of joy that come from helping others, no deep relationships built on shared joys and sufferings.

Jesus (God born into our world as the perfect human) displayed all of the best human qualities. Yet even He suffered cruelly by allowing himself to be crucified for our sins. God knows first-hand about our human suffering! Jesus’ crucifixion shows us that even in the midst of suffering, God’s love is ever-present. Jesus died because of God’s love for us. And Jesus’ death shows us that life and love ultimately triumph over suffering and death. Just as Jesus rose to new life at Easter, God promises us life after death.

In these remaining days of Lent, may we take time to really know this in our hearts:-

• God loved us into being.
• We are God’s most precious creation.
• God sent us Jesus and he died for us.
• God never stops loving us... regardless of what we do or even whether we love Him back!
• We are unconditionally and eternally loved every minute of every day
• Even through human pain and suffering, there is God’s love

If Lent has slipped us by and we haven’t opened our hearts to God’s love, it is not too late.

PRAY your way through Your day… Say a little prayer whenever someone or something makes life difficult; when someone does you a favour; when you experience great service; or when something joyful happens. This habit will make you aware of God’s constant presence in your life and bring you peace.

We may not be able to physically attend Mass, but the Scriptures are a great way to pray and reflect on God’s loving presence in our lives.

GIVE of Yourself as Jesus did.

Weave moments of service into even the busiest moments of your daily life. In this way you open your heart to God. Listen to others. Reach out in kindness. Help someone. Give encouragement to the doubting. Give praise to the insecure. Be kind to someone who could use a friend. Give thanks to those whose services often go unappreciated. Give attention to someone who simply wants to be noticed. Smile at everyone you meet.

FAST - Have you ‘fasted’ this Lent?

Fast every day from… self-doubt, intolerance, impatience, criticism, gossip, judging others, or passing on rumours.