A few days ago, we began our Lenten journey. We are given forty days to prepare for our celebration of Jesus’s passion, death, and resurrection. I am sure that you have already planned how you will pray, do penance, and give alms.

May I suggest another path that you might add to your Lenten practices? I have a great devotion to “those who have gone before us,” “our ancestors in the faith,” and “the cloud of witnesses.” Many saints are remembered, reflected on, and celebrated during these forty days of Lent.

There are men who have gone out into the wilderness to plumb the depths of God’s love and a spiritual writer who spoke about the “grace of every moment.” There were several theologians in the early Church who helped to shape and preserve the essential doctrines of the church. Several holy women and men saw poverty, illness, and illiteracy and created religious congregations to meet these needs. There were women and men who, on fire with the Gospel, went to foreign lands to preach of the Lord’s great love; women of royalty and wealth who surrendered their fortunes to care for the poor, and those who gave the ultimate act of martyrdom.

The persons we can reflect on during Lent were men and women of their time, lay women and men, priests, women and men religious and bishops. They have one thing in common. Jesus was real for them; they were attentive to his call to them. They were people of prayer who tried to make the reality of the love of God present in their ministry while they longed for that full union with God in eternity. They would be happy to guide us in that same direction.

Let Us Pray:

Throughout the history of our Church, Lord, you have raised up women and men who were attentive in prayer to your call to them to do simple things with great love and great things with humility. You were REAL to them. Please give us abundant grace to be attentive to where you are calling us to help make you REAL in our world. Amen.