Prepare for a Transformative Lent with Great Blessings

We all know Lent is about growing closer to God, to Jesus, uniting ourselves to Him on the cross, and reflecting on the sacrifice He made for all of us. We all know this logically; but do we know what this means in our hearts? Have we experienced a transformative Lent? Have we experienced a Lent which gave us lasting blessings in our lives – blessings that have stayed with us to this day?

If not, then how do we make that happen? Well, we don’t. Jesus does. The transformative and everlasting blessings are, like everything good and pure and from God, a gift, but they always start with prayer, an encounter, an open heart, ready to hear what Jesus has to say to us, ready to receive what Jesus wants us to hear in our heart, to know deeply in our soul. A heart ready to abandon itself into the Merciful Heart of Jesus, and say, “Your Will, Jesus, not mine.”

Humility

A transformative lent begins in seeking the Divine Will of Jesus, a complete giving of self to the Creator, an opening of our heart to hear the call of our Beloved. We can only hear what Jesus has to say to us to the extent our hearts are free from self-love and to the extent we give Jesus sublime acknowledgment of His Lordship over our lives. To the extent we are truly humble is to the extent Jesus can transform our hearts. If you are struggling with this virtue or are unsure if you truly have it, praying the Litany of Humility is a great prayer of purification, and praying this prayer with purity of intention and surrender to Jesus, will most assuredly advance one in this virtue.

It was through a personal transformative Lent experience that I can speak to the necessity of this virtue. The transformative Lent experience I had a couple of years ago began when I decided that year I was going to let Jesus dictate what I should give up for Lent. Now, it’s not that I didn’t pray about what to give up for Lent in past Lenten seasons, but I never made the decision to let Him have complete say on what it would be.

Jesus Knows Us Best. Give Him Complete Reign Over Your Lent Experience

He knows us our hearts and those things which take up space in our hearts where He should reside.

It was that year Jesus asked me to give up something I at first thought was inconsequential but turned out to be the most difficult thing I’d ever given up. Here are the reasons I urge all to surrender your decision on how you’ll spend your Lent to Jesus.

1. The Promise. When asking Jesus to decide for me how I should spend my Lent that year, I made a promise to Him to submit to His Will and request. And, by giving Him that authority and making that promise to Him, how could I deny it and not resolve to keep it? It is just as when we make a promise to a loved one; we strive our best to keep that promise, even if doing so comes at great sacrifice to ourselves. How much more so should our resolve be to keep our promise to Jesus, our Creator, our Beloved?

2. He Knows Our Hearts Best. What Jesus ended up choosing for me (in how I spent my Lent) was not something I would have chosen for myself. In fact, it was something I at first was confused by and felt would not be that difficult. It turned out, however, to be a great attachment I didn’t even know I had. Jesus knew this, of course, and in His wisdom knew what was best for me and knew denying myself this attachment would bring me so much closer to Him.

How we fool ourselves into thinking we know what’s best! Many times we desire Jesus to confirm our own desires and ideas about how situations would turn out best and are confused when we do not get any confirmation in return! How naïve (at best) we are! We should always remember our ways are not God’s ways, and many times, are very much the opposite! I had to learn this that Lent, as what I thought (or wished) Jesus would ask me to give up was not confirmed by Him. It was something altogether different, unexpected, and when I obeyed Him, resulted in heavenly blessings.

3. We Learn How to Suffer Well. By surrendering our Lent to Jesus with the spirit of humility, Jesus will most assuredly bless us with a greater spirit of surrender, and in turn, a desire to unite ourselves to Him on the cross. In this desire, we learn how to suffer as He did. What a great blessing this is!

As Lent began that year, I learned how great of an attachment I truly had to this thing which the Lord asked me to give up. It was through my intense cravings for this thing, and my resolve to deny myself this attachment (as this was not my decision, but Jesus’ request), I learned I could not make it through these 40 days without Jesus’ help. It was through this experience I learned “holy suffering.” I learned how to truly “offer up” suffering for others, and that in doing this, we experience freedom from suffering and pain, and that suffering is not to be feared or avoided, but seen as a chance to unite oneself to our Creator and Redeemer. And through this experience, and offering up the suffering, I came to experience how Jesus truly lightens the burden of suffering if He doesn’t take it away altogether. However, He can only do this if we give ourselves over to Him. And how He desires to do so! Do not be afraid to hand yourselves over to Him, for if you do, you will experience the true joy that is found even if the waves of life are crushing upon you – if you surrender to Him your suffering, you will know heavenly joy and true freedom even in those moments.

4. The Unexpected, Generous Blessings of God. While it was a great blessing to truly experience how handing over my suffering to Jesus and offering it up for others resulted in joy, as they say, God is never outdone in generosity. And such was the case with this transformative Lent experience. For not only did I learn about “holy suffering,” God gave me a great and unexpected blessing. He gave me the gift of a greater, and constant, awareness of my sins, and at the same time, an even greater experience of His mercy and compassion.

With regards to the experience of constantly being aware of when I sin, I am speaking here of even the kind of sins many excuse as “being human,” and therefore, are lax in condemning in themselves and others – “venting,” gossiping, selfishness, and impatience when another is causing one delay (when driving, waiting in line, etc.), passive-aggressive thoughts and behavior to attain selfish desires and needs, all the while justifying it by saying it is in the best interest of others.

In the beginning, at times it was exhausting to be constantly aware of these things, however, the growth in humility (at the same time being aware of how much I lack in this virtue) and compassion for others when they sin has been the result. When I do sin, I am immediately reminded, and sometimes (by the enormous grace of God), am able to stop myself before I actually sin. And while it may seem this constant awareness of my sins, and tendency to sin, would also come with it a constant sense of guilt and shame, that is not so. In fact, I continually experience God’s mercy at a greater depth as time goes by. That is not to say I never experience guilt or shame. Being human and wounded (and a perfectionist) is something I’ve always struggled with. However, in the moments of being aware of my sins, I always experience with it a great deal of mercy and humility that God is giving me this awareness. It penetrates my heart and I am overcome with gratitude, as I feel this blessing is allowing me the chance to grow in virtue and ascend the mountain to holiness that Jesus desires for us all. This is my unexpected, transformative blessing which has lasted to this day.

Do not delay, my dear friends, as Lent quickly approaches!

Take a trip to the adoration chapel or wherever it is that you go to spend time with Jesus. Pray the Litany of Humility. Sit before Him and let Him know you’d like to grow closer to Him this Lent. Know He knows you better than you know yourself. Tell Him you trust Him completely. Ask Him to help you abandon yourself to Him when it is difficult to live His desire for how He’d like you to spend your Lent. Know whatever it is, He knows Your heart best, He has many blessings in store for you and He desires to fill your heart with the love of His Most Sacred Heart.