Daily Lenten Reflections | Sunday Lenten Reflections

Easter of Hope is a Lenten reflection and video series by Array of Hope. Daily reading and a Lenten reflection including tips on how to live out the hope of Christ's resurrection.Sundays you will receive a short inspirational video from one of our Array of Hope Presenters.  
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29 February

Saturday after Ash Wednesday 
Luke 5:27-32

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

​Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

Reflection...Today’s Gospel beautifully illustrates the love Jesus has for each one of us. Levi’s obedience serves as an example to show how we, as believers, should live. He left everything behind and followed Jesus, becoming His disciple. This shows that despite our own shortcomings, sins and weaknesses, God still loves us and calls us to discipleship.

 Are you obedient to what God asks of you? Or do you settle for what is most convenient? We are called to give up all the things we are attached to that are obstacles to following Jesus. Of course, this calling is not always easy, especially in the world that we live in today. Jesus never promised us it would be easy, but it in the end, it will be worth it and we will be rewarded in Heaven.

Today’s Tip: Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Just like a doctor heals the sick, Jesus desires to heal you too. He is the greatest Physician and Healer. He comes “not to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.” Allow Him to enter into your brokenness and provide hope and healing to your heart. Through the beautiful Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are invited to leave our sins behind and follow Jesus more fully. 

28 February

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Friday after Ash Wednesday 
Matthew 9:14-15

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?"
Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast."

Reflection .... In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus reveal Himself as God and the inauguration of the Messianic Age by the title "Bridegroom," which is a cause for joyful celebration and feasting, not fasting. However, we also hear that there will indeed be a time when Jesus' disciples fast: when instead of celebrating Jesus' presence they mourn His absence.

Why do we fast during Lent? Lent is a time of sacrifice and conversion, a time for us to recognize our faults and the reality that we are all sinners.We recognize that our sins distance us from God and, in the case of mortal sin, even separate us from God. Lent is a time for each of us to mourn for our sins but it is also time to rest in the hope that God will restore us. By fasting, we offer our sacrifice as penance for our sins. While we often say that fasting can be replaced by making other sacrifices in its place, like giving up a favorite TV show, or not going on social media, we mustn't lose the importance of fasting from food and drink. Big or small, when we offer up sacrifices for God, we will be filled with His grace and peace. In the sacrifice we feel alive. 

Today’s Tip: Choose one thing that you are going to give up or fast from this Lent and write it down. 

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27 February

Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Moses said to the people:
“Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.

If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy.

I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Reflection .... In Today's Reading, we hear from Moses as he gives the Israelites a choice between two realities: life or death. He pleads with them to choose life. We too, have this choice on a daily basis.

Which would you choose? Lent is a time to slow down, dive deeper and take a closer look at the decisions we are making on a daily basis. Our lives are made up of thousands of choices, some big, some small. Positive decisions that improve our relationship with God and others, our health {spiritual and physical} and our communities all bring life. Decisions that harm ourselves, others, and ultimately God lead to death. The choice is yours. Hit the snooze button? Eat a donut for breakfast? Ignore those around me? Waste time at work? Moses challenges us to choose life, that is, choose the good in every single moment so that we may truly live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding His voice, and holding fast to Him. 

Today’s Tip: Add the practice of the Examination of Conscience to your nightly routine. St. Ignatius of Loyola created a prayer called the Examen that does just this.

26 February

Ash Wednesday
Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

Today on Ash Wednesday, we begin our Lenten journey through this season of grace. Mother Clare, CFR, shares with us how we can unite ourselves with Jesus and accompany Him this Lent through prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Jesus said to His disciples:
"Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your Heavenly Father.
When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the
praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

"When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."

Discussion Questions

1. How can you make this Lent less about you and more about Jesus?
2. In what ways, can you follow God's will more deeply in your daily life?
3. What are some ways you can accompany Jesus this Lenten season through prayer, fasting and almsgiving?​