I see a message on my desk after the phone rings. I pick up the phone and return the call. The first words I hear are, “Father Rick, my son just died in a freak accident.” Here begins another wilderness, a new Lent for a family that never saw it coming.
It’s hard to go into this desert with Jesus when we can do nothing for ourselves to relieve us from the pain that seems to be relentless. This desert is a trying place we would not want to be in.
Yet these are the choices we sometimes make every day, in little and big ways, believing the serpent’s lies in the 1st reading from Genesis. We think we have a solution to our immediate happiness. And so, it continues. The world keeps tempting us, always leaving us dissatisfied and empty.
The emptiness in our hearts is the wilderness that Jesus enters. In there, He hungers and thirsts for something this world cannot satisfy. And yes, it’s never a quick fix. We want to turn the stones into bread, but something greater is at work here: the cleansing of our hearts. It is the clean of heart who see God working, even in our deserts.
I invite you to enter these 40 days of Lent alongside any mother who has been at a breaking point for months. Morning, noon, and night, her baby has been crying and fussing with colic. Mom’s helplessness exhausts her, as she finds no relief for her little one.
She called a friend with many children to ask how long the crying would last. She can’t imagine taking any more, watching her child suffer. Her friend’s response was simple but direct, and really hit home: “God will give you enough grace for today.”
When you are in the middle of a difficulty that is too much to bear, do not lose heart, but welcome the Lord to be with you. Surrender to Him and welcome Him into your desert. Jesus Himself is your grace for today.
If you know someone who is bearing the cross that only Jesus can seem to carry, get on the cross with them and bear their suffering as much as you can with them. They will know Jesus is with them when you stay with them today.
Never forget, the empty tomb is coming, and we will not be in it.
Peace be with you.
Fr. Rick Pilger, IC
www.bscchurch.com
