Day 2

Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful.

Joel 2:13

Our lives continually drift away from their true home. We forget we are God's beloved. We forget that we are not God. We succumb to the temptations of money, sex, and power. We ignore the cries of our sisters and brothers. We focus only on ourselves.

During Lent, God calls us home. We remember who we truly are. We let God be God in our lives. We respond to our suffering neighbor. Put simply, we begin again with God.

Only when the fierce love of God, fully revealed in the Crucified One, pierces our hearts do we respond lovingly to God.

During Lent, we listen for this good news: God passionately loves us and wants us to come home. Lent invites us to open our lives to this love however far we may have drifted and to return again to the God who longs for us.

Daily Practice

Mediate on the word return and ask the Holy Spirit to deepen your awareness of God's love. Be aware of the different ways in which the Divine Love comes to you —the smile of a stranger, the presence of a friend, the beauty of a sunset, the enjoyment of a walk. Before you go to sleep, think back on these gifts of God's love, savor them, and give thanks for them.