Ash Wednesday Lenten Devotional

Weekly Lenten Devotional 

Ash Wednesday 2023

 You may wish to light a candle as you begin this Ash Wednesday reflection. May its light illumine your Lenten days. 

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Ps. 139:23

“. . .we come from dust and return to dust” is a paraphrase of the familiar Ash Wednesday pronouncement from Ecclesiastes 3:20 as we receive the imposition of the ashes on our foreheads. Socrates is credited with saying “The unexamined life is not worth living”.  So what we do with the “in between” time of dust to dust is important. Lent calls us to reflection and self-examination; to give some thought and prayer to our “in between” life. We take up the Inward Journey in order to continue the Outward Journey with renewed energy and insight. Doing Lent in this way may not be easy or appealing, but it is healthy both spiritually and psychologically. Undertaking this work together is helpful and supportive. Therefore, the church, locally and globally, embarks on the Lenten journey at the same time. We are not alone in this deep work and Spirit is with us throughout. 

Each week we will reflect on a topic, explore it and be as honest as possible with ourselves and God. We will use a practice known as the Daily Examen originated by St. Ignatius Loyola as the lens through which we will explore our experience of the week’s topic. Below is a version of the Examen. This link https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/jesuit-a-z/terms-e/daily-examen offers a more detailed version. The Examen is practiced as a prayerful review of your day and is best done in the evening. 

Before each practice time, take a moment to settle into your body, relax and take three deep breaths allowing each exhale to be longer than each inhale. 

Below is the 5 step process.

·       Place yourself in God’s presence. Give thanks for God’s great love for you. 

·       Pray for the grace to understand how God is acting in your life. 

·       Review your day — recall specific moments and your feelings at the time.

·       Reflect on what you did, said, or thought in those instances. Were you drawing closer to God, or further away? 

·       Look toward tomorrow — think of how you might collaborate more effectively with Spirit. Be specific. Conclude with The Lord’s Prayer or a prayer of your own.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.” In Richard Foster’s book, Prayers from the Heart, he offers this prayer in response to the scripture. 

 “God, I pray these words of the psalmist with great hesitation. They lay things so bare. They allow no room for negotiation or compromise. I fear the scrutiny. I dread the probe. I resist the intrusion. I know that you are all love and so I am entering nothing more than your scrutiny of love. And yet . . . No! I refuse to allow my fear to keep me from your love.”

May it be so.

Mary Garbesi

Director of Congregational Care