Lent is like a long 'retreat' during which we can turn back into ourselves and listen to the voice of God, in order to defeat the temptations of the Evil One. It is a period of spiritual 'combat' which we must experience alongside Jesus, not with pride and presumption, but using the arms of faith: prayer, listening to the word of God and penance. In this way we will be able to celebrate Easter in truth, ready to renew the promises of our Baptism.

~ Pope Benedict XVI

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart! Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,

From the desire of being loved,

From the desire of being sought after,

From the desire of being honored,

From the desire of being praised,

From the desire of being preferred to others,

From the desire of being consulted,

From the desire of being approved,

Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being humbled,

From the fear of being despised,

From the fear of suffering rebuffs,

From the fear of being calumniated,

From the fear of being forgotten,

From the fear of being ridiculed,

From the fear of being injured,

From the fear of being suspected,

Deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I,

That in the opinion of the world, others may increase,

and I may decrease,

That others may be chosen and I set aside,

That others may be praised and I unnoticed,

That others be preferred to me in everything, 

That others may be more holy than I,

provided I may become as holy as I should.

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

+ Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val +

A tongue filled with laughter and praise is a reflection of a heart filled to overflowing with the joy of the Lord. What a joy it is just to be with someone whose heart is full. A soothing tongue, a tongue that can say "I accept you where you are," or "I appreciate your questions" without offence or bitterness, is a secure place someone can go for help without fear of judgment, condemnation or censure. ~Mike Hoskins

I bind unto myself today

The strong Name of the Trinity,

By invocation of the same,

The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever.

By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;

His baptism in the Jordan river;

His death on Cross for my salvation;

His bursting from the spicèd tomb;

His riding up the heavenly way;

His coming at the day of doom;*

I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power

Of the great love of the cherubim;

The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,

The service of the seraphim,

Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,

The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,

All good deeds done unto the Lord,

And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today

The virtues of the starlit heaven,

The glorious sun's life-giving ray,

The whiteness of the moon at even,

The flashing of the lightning free,

The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,

The stable earth, the deep salt sea,

Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today

The power of God to hold and lead,

His eye to watch, His might to stay,

His ear to hearken to my need.

The wisdom of my God to teach,

His hand to guide, His shield to ward,

The word of God to give me speech,

His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,

The vice that gives temptation force,

The natural lusts that war within,

The hostile men that mar my course;

Or few or many, far or nigh,

In every place and in all hours,

Against their fierce hostility,

I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,

Against false words of heresy,

Against the knowledge that defiles,

Against the heart's idolatry,

Against the wizard's evil craft,

Against the death wound and the burning,

The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,

Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,

The strong Name of the Trinity;

By invocation of the same.

The Three in One, and One in Three,

Of Whom all nature hath creation,

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:

Praise to the Lord of my salvation,

Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

+ St. Patrick +

Now is the time to drop all desire for approval, by our peers or by our seniors or by our juniors, because the God we follow had no approval. There he is, crucified. This is the consequence of the disapproval of man! That's what man did to his God. Are we going to repeat this crucifixion by our picayune little worries about being approved by somebody? This is the moment to drop such things. Who wants to be approved? The ones who do not want to follow Christ. The ones who want to sit in corners and hug themselves with the approval of some unimportant people.

This is the hour of renewal. Lent is renewal and repentance. Lent is a time of change. Is it the time to have a wrong image of yourself? You are the image of God and if you have a poor image of yourself, then you are desecrating his image. That's not how one wants to enter Lent. ~Catherine Doherty

If you would like to know God …

Look at the crucifix.

If you would like to love God …

Look at the crucifix.

If you want to serve God …

Look at the crucifix.

If you wonder what you are worth …

Look at the crucifix.

If you wonder how much God loves you …

Look at the crucifix.

If you want to know the need for self-denial and sacrifice …

Look at the crucifix.

If you wonder how much you should forgive others …

Look at the crucifix.

If you wonder how much you should do for others …

Look at the crucifix.

If you wonder how much your faith demands of you in

humility, poverty, charity in every virtue …

Look at the crucifix.

If you want to know what unselfishness and generosity are … Look at the crucifix.

If you wonder how far your own unselfishness should

go to bring others to Christ …

Look at the crucifix.

If you wish to live well …

Look at the crucifix.

If you wish to die well …

Look at the crucifix.

The purpose of every true devotional practice and method of prayer is to bring us to a person-to-person, being-to-being relationship with Christ. This involves relating not just to the words of Jesus or to the details of his physical presence, but to the person of Jesus, the eternal Word in human form. ~Fr. Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O.