Tuesday, March 18
Challenge Accepted, Clarissa Cervantes (2025).
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord.” (Isaiah 1:18)
Yes Lord, I am coming! Challenge accepted. Let me walk with you throughout the desert. Let me carry the cross for a bit.
There is a sense of urgency when I hear the Lord saying “come now,” wash yourself clean, especially during Lent. A time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. A time for reflection, reconciliation, and forgiveness. To me, everything else becomes secondary when salvation is at hand and I am called into an encounter with God.
This year, my Lenten practices are deeper than ever before, because my spiritual practices have been more profound than ever. It is not so much a question of how much more can I sacrifice, but how much more can I love.
My present creative call reflects the emptiness, beauty and transformation of the desert, as well as the periods of dryness and uncertainties of my life. As a matter of fact, some of the most fruitful periods of my life has been throughout the deserts of California and New Mexico. Even though I know deserts can offer endless opportunities for growth and resilience, I have to admit: I have always been more of a “water person.”
Let my “Yes” be my sacrificial love when the Lord calls, even at the smallest unpredictable moments of daily inconveniences. Lent provides me with a divine opportunity ahead to reason together with our Lord and visit those “desert” places in my heart.
Clarissa Cervantes is a photographer, physical therapist, poet, and researcher. Clarissa made her vows as a Pauline Lay Cooperator and never looked back. Through her writing and photography, she has been published on the Pauline Association Magazine, L.A Catholics Magazine, Angelus News Magazine, EWTN Media Missionaries and The Young Catholic Woman Blog.