March Adoration - Lent, A Time of Conversion

The Church calls us to conversion in preparation for the Easter celebrations. If we have not lost touch with love—communication with God, our brothers and sisters, and creation—it is likely that certain noises and interferences have detracted from the clarity, intimacy, and beauty of that loving relationship. We know from experience that when our communication with God weakens or we fail to give our love to our brothers and sisters, we feel strange, dislocated, and without peace.

That is sin.

Lent is a journey toward Christ, the Compassionate One, so that He may heal us, for only He can do so.

- O God, come to my aid.

- Lord, make haste to help me.

- Glory be to the Father...

- As it was in the beginning...

 

If I turned away from you

without light and without faith:

Lord, have mercy.

You will be our light.

You will save us.

You will give us life.

If I denied my brother or sister

the peace you give us,

Lord, have mercy.

You will be our light.

You will save us.

You will give us life.

Silence for adoration.

Psalm.

If you have courage, follow in Jesus' footsteps.

It is a different way of understanding life.

He helps us distinguish between right and wrong.

He is strength in weakness, security in risk.

If you find it difficult to break free from the chains that enslave you,

if you fear the future, trust in the Lord.

Do not fear exposure or loss of influence,

for the values of the gospel are measured on a different scale.

Freedom and sincere prayer mark the character of righteous people

and enlarge the heart with unshakeable support.

Do not forget, Lord, those of us who want to follow you.

Keep us in your memory now and forever.

Silence for meditation.

Reading.

“God sees and has compassion on our weakness. He sees our good will and knows how difficult it is for us to say “yes” to Him and to love Him more than our need for warm human love; but if we humans can understand this, surely the Lord understands our struggles and also our mistakes.

And his judgment, I am sure, will be more forgiving than ours." (Fr. Patrick Bradley, ss.cc.)

Silence for reflection.

Petitions.

Let us ask the merciful God:

- That He may grant us the grace of true conversion during this Lent...

- That He may forgive us for our coldness in our relationship with Him and in following His will...

- That He may forgive us our lack of sensitivity and love towards others...

- That He may forgive us for not having sought our fulfillment as persons and as believers...

- You may add your own intentions....

Our Father.

Prayer.

Father, we acknowledge that we are sinners. Heal us and give us a renewed heart to love one another. We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.

Amen.