SurRENDer
Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God (Joel 2:13).
With Lent beginning a bit later than what seems usual this year, I feel like the Lord has been providing me with lots of time to “prepare.” Not just in terms of our parish offerings this Lenten season, which I’ll dive into in a bit, but also for what he’s calling me to this Lent.
To put this call in a word that we often hear at this time of year, and is true every day of our lives, he has been calling me to deeper and deeper surRENDer this past month of February (before Lent even begins)! I sense he’s been saying, “Let’s get ready now and then go deep in Lent!”
A huge step in receiving his invitation and grace for deeper surrender was our parish opportunity to read 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory and join together to consecrate ourselves to Jesus in the Eucharist. On February 2nd, we prayed, “Teach me the surrender and sacrifice that were necessary to make the Eucharist possible in this broken world,” and my spirit sensed the graces the Lord was providing to help me learn.
Just a few days later, on February 7th, I had the great blessing of attending a Transformation Night in Brighton with speaker and evangelizer Leif Hetland. He spoke of the 2 chairs (3 really, but that’s another story), and his short yet powerful descriptions asked us to consider, “Which chair do you sit in most frequently throughout the day:” Chair One: the Kingdom of God OR Chair 2: the Kingdom of self?; Chair One: Wanting to bring heaven to earth? OR Chair 2: Wanting to get from earth to heaven? Chair 1: At rest OR Chair 2: Restless? And the list goes on! My mind was at work and still is! Lord, where am I sitting right now? Lord, help me to sit in more fully and more frequently in Chair 1!
The next week, on February 14th, I received a call that the Sacred Heart image I had taken to be framed (as a surprise for my husband’s upcoming birthday on March 1st) was ready. When I set my phone down, realization washed over me that it was Valentine’s Day, and I was overwhelmed with the way that the Lord was giving me and John (JB) his heart this day! Of course now I couldn’t wait until his birthday to present the gift, so I gave him the framed image that evening. The Lord’s hesed, his loving kindness and mercy are so great, so beyond comprehension, but to me, this was just a very physical way that he was giving us his heart, making it just a bit more comprehensible! This hesed is the fuel needed for deeper conversion and surrender. As the CCC states, “We don’t depend on ourselves to see our inner reality, but instead we “hope in God’s mercy and trust in the help of his grace” (1431).
Thanks be to God for preparing me for Lent with the very things that I need for this journey: his grace, his mental challenge and conviction, and his heart to love me along the way. And he is doing and will do the same for our parish as we head into this season! He’s already providing ample and awesome ways right here at St. John to more fully surRENDer to him in these coming 40 Days…check out the bulletin for more details, but I will highlight a few opportunities here:
*Catholic Biblical School of Michigan is coming to St. John to help us dive into the Gospel of Mark. In his Gospel, Mark makes it clear that being a disciple of Jesus is a radical decision! Join us on Friday nights as we rediscover the call to follow Jesus and prepare for the joy of Easter. Presentations will include questions for discussion, prayer and personal reflection. Each evening begins at 6pm with a light Lenten meal. This series is free but please RSVP at https://cbsmich.org/stjohnjackson/ to help us plan for food amounts and supplies.
*Lenten Speaker: Tony Hagelgans, author of Life Begins at Surrender, joins us Wednesday evening, March 12, to give his testimony and explain the power of surrender! (His book will be for sale following the talk.)
*Lenten Adoration Nights: Again this year, we have set aside nights of Adoration themed toward certain groups: women, men, and families with young children/teens. Come and allow our Eucharistic Lord to speak to your heart, inviting you to deeper conversion!
We are reminded in the Catechism: “Jesus’ call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, “sackcloth and ashes,” fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures, and works of penance (CCC, 1430).
Lord, help us resurRENDer “completely and absolutely to Your goodness” this Lent! Take us each deeper, Lord, and show us the conversion you desire for each of us individually so that we may help bring Heaven to earth!
Shayne