March 4th, 2024
This past weekend, my husband and I went to a holy hour hosted by our new parish’s young adult group. It wasn’t until we’d driven all the way there that I realized I forgot my phone at home. No problem, I thought, my husband has his in case of an emergency, and I’m not expecting any calls. I’ll be fine.
Then, I pulled out my journal as holy hour began. Journaling in Eucharistic Adoration is my favorite way to pray. As a writer, I love spilling out my heart to the Lord on paper so I can look back later on all the work the Lord has done in my life. I have a whole pile of journals dating back to middle school. Plus, the physical act of taking a pen to paper keeps my easily distracted mind focused.
I dug through my purse and realized I had also forgotten to bring a writing utensil.
I realized I had none of my usual distractions. My only way to pray this holy hour was to speak directly to Jesus in the Eucharist from my heart.
Wow, I thought. This holy hour’s going to be a waste. I’ll be so distracted. I won’t get anything out of it. How can I just talk to God?
In today’s first reading, Naaman the Syrian has a similar reaction when he comes to Elisha the prophet seeking a cure for a debilitating illness…only to be told to go take a bath in the Jordan: “I thought that he would surely come out and stand there to invoke the Lord his God, and would move his hand over the spot, and thus cure the leprosy. Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?” (2 Kings 5:11).
How often do we forget the best way to God is often the simplest? We pile upon ourselves all these holy-sounding and complicated Lenten practices, forgetting that all that Jesus wants from us is our hearts, messy and sinful and aching as they are. Like a properly ordered relationship with money or food, Lenten practices are not an end in and of themselves; they are tools used to bring us closer to the One who made us and to make us more like Himself.
If your Lenten “performance” has been less than stellar, take this opportunity halfway through the season to ask the Lord in prayer what He wants from you to finish out this season strong. Don’t be surprised if the answer is simpler than you think. Pray this prayer of St. Thérèse of Lisieux: “Jesus, help me to simplify my life by learning what you want me to be and becoming that person.
Vicky Wolak Freeman is a writer and copy editor based in Atlanta and the communications manager for the Catholic Artist Connection. You can find out more about her here.