Each day, it's important to take your bearings. Where are you today? In this Lenten exercise, in the scriptures, in your daily life, and in your very self? Spend just a minute or two getting your bearings for the day.
Let's briefly examine where we are in this Lenten exercise and then begin each day with a prayer for transformation--for ourselves, our fraternity brothers, and all Exodus Men.
You are in Jerusalem. This week, we will focus on the greatest transformation: to love with Christ’s love. Let us be transformed!
Pray the Lord blesses you and your fraternity with a foundation for real personal change during this season of Lent.
Pray for the grace of perseverance for all Exodus Men, just as they are praying for you.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
And when it was evening he came with the Twelve. And as they were at table eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” He said to them, “It is one of the Twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the {new} covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
We must seek the food that truly satisfies us. Benedict XVI tells us, in Deus Caritas Est (#13):
Jesus anticipated his death and resurrection by giving his disciples, in the bread and wine, his very self, his body and blood as the new manna. The ancient world had dimly perceived that man's real food—what truly nourishes him as man—is ultimately the Logos, eternal wisdom: this same Logos now truly becomes food for us—as love. The Eucharist draws us into Jesus' act of self-oblation. More than just statically receiving the incarnate Logos, we enter into the very dynamic of his self-giving. The imagery of marriage between God and Israel is now realized in a way previously inconceivable: it had meant standing in God's presence, but now it becomes union with God through sharing in Jesus' self-gift, sharing in his body and blood. The sacramental “mysticism”, grounded in God's condescension towards us, operates at a radically different level and lifts us to far greater heights than anything that any human mystical elevation could ever accomplish.
The Eucharist is the bread of charity: it feeds and sustains our love for Christ. Each time we receive the Eucharist we should strive to receive Christ with more zeal, more longing, more attention than we have done previously, and in this way, our charity will increase. Christ gives himself to us in the Eucharist in the measure that we give ourselves to him. It is the moment when we surrender to God’s love in response to his incredible self-gift of love and life that he offers to us.
At this moment, we participate in the heavenly banquet; our life here and the life of the world to come meet. Jesus Christ is the substance of our eternal life; and our love, which we have received from him, is what lets us participate in that substance. All else fades in the presence of this reality.
Christians have been celebrating the Eucharistic feast for two thousand years. Allow the Lord to open the eyes of your heart to understand this life-changing mystery. Receive the love of God and let it transform you.
Now place yourself before God, and converse with him. If making a holy hour is a new practice for you, consider using the Holy Hour Guide.
1. Enter into Holy Week fully. Don’t let this be just another week. Our prayer discipline calls for a daily holy hour. In these final days, set your alarm, get up early, go to the chapel or light a candle beside a crucifix at home, and let the Lord change your life as you sit before him in your holy hour.
2. Consider increasing your fasting. Sprint to the finish line! Push yourself in fasting. Decrease your food intake or your sleep. Now is the time to put it all on the line.
3. Don't give in to distractions this week. Silence your phone, turn off notifications, deactivate badge icons. Do whatever it takes to stay close to Christ, to finish this exercise strongly, to be present to your family, and to live as a free man.
4. Keep moving forward this Easter. If you go back to the way you lived before Lent, you’re likely to slide back and return to the vices you struggled with then. We need to learn to celebrate well, in a way that expresses our joy in God without losing the discipline that we have achieved. If you make a plan to celebrate Easter in a disciplined way, you’re more likely to avoid falling back and instead will keep moving forward. Exodus’s Easter exercise will focus on building a sustainable rule of life, balancing celebration and discipline.
5. Stick with your brothers. You may not know how important your brothers have been to you along this journey. Keep investing in one another and building your friendship. Talk with your fraternity about keeping things going during Easter. Talk about how you plan to feast, reflect, and keep moving forward.