Lent Day 17 | 40 to Life

The below reflection was provided by the Diocese of Southern Virginia:

Monday in the Third Week of Lent

Look upon the heart-felt desires of your humble servants, Almighty God, and stretch forth the right hand of your majesty to be our defense against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Lenten repentance is a deep discipline that is meant to search out what we’ve been hiding from ourselves, or others in our lives, and to bring those things to the surface where we can offer them to God seeking forgiveness. Too often this process can run roughshod in our hearts and cause us to reject or diminish good things in our lives that are difficult, mistaking them for selfish or evil.

Desire and humility stand next to each other in today’s collect in a configuration that draws attention to the location they share in our hearts. We’re also reminded that humility is as much a work of a passionate heart as any desire.

Today we pray that both of these seemingly conflicting aspects of ourselves be brought to bear for the glory of God. Both are worthy of God’s mighty defense and we can trust that through Christ we are safe from diversions into selfishness or boasting. Let us pray this prayer from our hearts; turning over to God our desires in humble trust that is active and alive through Christ.

The Diocesan Lenten Reflections come from clergy and laity in each of our nine convocations. The reflections are based on the collect appointed for each day in Lent. Today's collect and the associated daily readings can be found HERE.