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Loved As You Are - An Invitation for Lent
217 Plays2 years ago
Join Gretchen Crowder as she reflects on the unique combination of Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day this year and invites you to join her on a journey this Lent.
You can find all her Lenten Resources here: https://www.jesuitscentralsouthern.org/spirituality/lent-2024/
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Transcript
Ash Wednesday Meets Valentine's Day: A Unique Intersection
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Today is Ash Wednesday and I wanted to come on and share a reflection that I wrote for the Central and Southern Jesuit Province on the unique combination of Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day this year.
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I really feel for kids everywhere this year. I remember what a big deal Valentine's Day was when I was a child. It always meant coming home with a big pile of candy and an even bigger smile on my face. I also remember what Lent felt like as a kid too, especially when it was the same week as Valentine's Day. It meant having my smile fade just a little as I stared at that pile of candy and wondered if I had the fortitude
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to give it all up for Jesus.
Love and Sacrifice: Bridging the Contrasts
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This year, Valentine's Day, a day of love and joy and chocolate coincides with Ash Wednesday, a day of dust, sacrifice, and a stark reminder of our mortality. At first glance, these two days could not be more different. In fact, I spent weeks pondering this dichotomy as I prepared what I would write about Lent, 2024.
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But suddenly one morning on the way into work, it hit me. Maybe they are not as different as I think they are.
Understanding Divine Love Through Jesus
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After all, they are both expressions of love. For the past few years, I have been writing and speaking nonstop about a message that God planted in my heart years ago and fortified during my journey through the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius. God loves me as I am, no matter what.
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Even more, God loves each and every human being as they are, no matter what. This magnanimous love is the reason God sent Jesus to us in the first place. This magnanimous love is the reason Jesus left home and walked throughout Jerusalem, teaching, healing, and welcoming all to His table. This magnanimous love is also the reason that when soldiers came to arrest Him in the garden,
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he went, and when more soldiers nailed him to the cross, he stretched out his hands and offered his life for us.
Embracing God's Love During Lent
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This magnanimous love God has for each of us, and all of us in turn, is the foundation of everything. I believe wholeheartedly that a Lent that begins with Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day on the same day, an occurrence that will only happen
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three times this century, gives us a unique opportunity to do something a little different this year. By all means, if you would like to still give up candy or some other vice that is getting in the way of your relationship with God, please do so. It is a valuable and worthy and time-honored way of preparing your heart for Easter.
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But I would also like to invite you to consider that when we know we are magnanimously loved by God, the sacrifice part follows naturally. What if this year we prepared our hearts for Easter by spending 40 days leaning into and internalizing our belovedness?
Preparing for Easter: Reflecting on Sacrifice
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What if this year we prepared our hearts for Easter by recognizing and celebrating that the greatest love of our lives is the one who walked the road to Calvary, stretched out his arms on the cross, and offered up his life for each and every one of us? This may just be a way that our journey through Lent can change us in a way it has never before.
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If you're looking for more resources on leaning into our belovedness this Lent, please check out the Central and Southern Jesuit Province website linked in the show notes.
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Every week on Sunday, I will be sharing a reflection connected to the Sunday reading, as well as suggested prayer exercise and a video or audio to accompany you in prayer. I will also be uploading the audio for those prayer reflections here on this podcast.
Join Our Journey: Weekly Reflections and Resources
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I hope you'll join me. And in the meantime, remember to be who you are because that's exactly who God wants you to be.
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Have a blessed beginning of Lent.