"God cannot fill what is full. He can only fill emptiness, deep poverty, and your 'yes' is the beginning of being or becoming empty. It is not how much we really 'have' to give, but how empty we are, so that we can receive fully in our life and let Him live His life in us."
-Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
It is Ash Wednesday. As a child, I remember hating this day! I did not understand what it meant. I just knew two things. The first was that I would have to go to church for a Mass that was even longer than usual (because everyone would have to walk to the front twice!). The second was that I'd be smeared with dirt. I remember always walking out of the church in total humiliation. When I got home I would immediately run to the bathroom to wash my forehead.
It wasn't until college that I really began to understand Ash Wednesday. To my surprise receiving ashes was not a meaningless ritual imposed on me by the church and my parents. The Catholic Church in her great wisdom does have a reason for this ritual, and it is beautiful. Since Old Testament times, ashes have been a sign of repentance. "Lent" literally means "rebirth." We begin the season with an outward sign that we will die to ourselves and our worldly desires in order to embrace Christ and prepare for rebirth and resurrection on Easter.
I was also surprised to find that there was actually meaning behind the fasting we were asked to do during Lent. In the past, I had always given up the usual chocolate or soda, but only because I knew my teachers at the Catholic school would ask me from what I would be fasting. I admit that I didn't even usually succeed at fasting from the thing I gave up, and usually changed my commitment at some point during the forty days.
Mother Teresa speaks about emptying ourselves so that we can be filled. Whatever we decide to fast from this Lent, we should remember that our sacrifice is not meaningless. When we empty ourselves of something earthly, we make room for Jesus to fill us with something heavenly. Lent is forty days in the desert. What is in the desert? Nothing! Simplicity is in the desert. Wide open space. We have been given the opportunity to journey into the desert with Christ. This is a time to make our lives more like Christ's by embracing fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. It is a time to empty ourselves of sin and distraction so that Jesus can fill our hearts with truth and life. He wants to walk with us through the desert, down the road to calvary, and ultimately to "rebirth" and new life on Easter.
Our rebirth will be a renewal of our minds, hearts and souls in light of the truth about beauty. We have forty days to become different women, better women, more beautiful women. Let's start off right. Let's enter Lent with joy and intentional commitment. This liturgical season is a great blessing with deep rooted meaning, it is a time to journey with Christ and to become more holy. Let us pray today that God will fill our hearts as we fast and seek His truth.
Today's Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the season of Lent. Please bless my sacrifice in these forty days. Please lead me closer to your heart and into a deeper understanding of the beautiful creation you have made me to be. Do not allow me to end these forty days unchanged, but transform my mind, heart, and soul. I love you Jesus, I give myself to You and consecrate this True Beauty Challenge to You. Amen.
Today's Challenge:
Go to Mass. Begin Lent right by receiving Jesus in the Eucharist and offering the next forty days to Him. Then, wear your ashes proudly as a sign of your commitment to leave behind worldly desires and journey closer to the heart of Christ.
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