Lent is time for a soul diet: cutting out the distractions that often fill our lives, turning down the volume so we can hear the silence where God speaks. It’s time, too, for moral exercise and discipline: prayer, fasting, good works, charitable giving. Yet change often takes root more readily if we have a friend to jog along with us on the road to self-improvement. Through the story of our Scriptures, we find role models and even heroes who walked this same road before us, marked by the sign of faith. Together, day by day, we move toward the new life of Easter.

Ash Wednesday: JOEL, PROPHET OF REPENTANCE

(Jl 2:12-18; 2 Cor 5:20—6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18)

Turn and return! Joel urges us to turn away from a self-centered life, and return to the God who longs to bless us. Imagine yourself in the center of things, with all of your goals around you. Now imagine God at the center: What has to change? To begin, pray first for a change of heart.

Thursday: MOSES AND THE CHOICE FOR LIFE

(Dt 30:15-20; Lk 9:22-25)

Moses lays it on the line: This decision is a matter of life or death. We are invited to choose life, in its many forms: the vulnerable lives of the unborn, children, adolescents, the sick, the poor, the stranger, the one who is different, the elderly, the dying. Do we offer each of them a blessing or a curse?

Friday: THE WEDDING GUESTS
(Is 58:1-9a; Mt 9:14-15)

The disciples of John were offended by Jesus. His followers seemed too happy to be holy! We often mistake holiness as a grave or sad affair, but Jesus repeatedly reminds us to be people of celebration. The Church is a party, celebrating love and hope. Lent is no excuse for a long face.

Saturday: LEVI THE DESPISED

(Is 58:9b-14; Lk 5:27-32)

Tax collectors have never been popular. At the time of Jesus, they were considered downright traitors. But Jesus didn't stop at what a person did; rather, he saw what was in each heart. That gave Levi reason to rejoice. Do we give the despised a reason to join us in hope?