We find ourselves in a time of grace, of communion with all the people of our world who desire peace, concord, and solidarity made a reality with suffering humanity. We also find ourselves in a turbulent time, of insecurities, of pending resolutions of conflicts, of human exploitation in its various forms.
They are permanent calls in the face of which we often feel powerless.
Our personal life is also affected by everything in our environment, by work or the stress of multiple activities, seeking more hours each day, or inactivity due to age, fatigue, illness…
The word CONVERSION comes to us again at this time, and we can leave it as at Christmas time as an ornament that accompanies the season of the year, because it is a necessary attitude to celebrate Easter, one of resurrection and another of birth. That is to say, conversion can remain a cliché that is repeated annually, and go through our lives like curing a cold or little more.
If we observe the conversion of Charles de FOUCAULD, in addition to his personality, his most recent past and his biography up to that moment, there is an action of God, who calls his son, who puts Henri HUVELIN on his path, who has the spiritual support from her family, so anguished by that brother, cousin, so intelligent and creative that it is difficult to understand.
Given this, we could make these reflections:
1 In what aspects of my life, my spirituality, my ordinary work and my relationships with others do I need changes? Have I settled into being the way I always am or do I feel like I’m not working well that way? Do I stand up for others, for Pope Francis, for my fellow priests? Do I stand up for the poor who are with me?
2 Friendship with God, my relationship with him in prayer, in the celebration of the Eucharist or the Liturgy of the Hours, is it marked by the repetitive, routine, ordered rite, or is it a daily expression, of the present, of my moment? current and world, with the concerns or joys of the day? Worship, listening to the Word, what place and time do they occupy in my daily life? Do I have time for almost everything except prayer and contemplation? The desert day, is it a priority? Am I lazy, afraid…?
3 When there are many connection cables in an electronic device and we cannot figure out where one goes and the other, how do I connect from my good will in my heart the call of Jesus to work in his Kingdom, the urgency of responses from myself to the human conflicts that exist near or far from me? Do I have the ability to listen to those who need me?
Lent is a time of conversion. Let us not make another myth or idea, or an ornament in our whole being believers, easy to explain to others, but difficult to face internally.
Aurelio SANZ BAEZA,
Murcia fraternity
February 2024
PDF: Lent 2024 Reflection and invitation to Life Review. Aurelio SANZ BAEZA eng