Lent Day 8 | 40 to Life

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

Thursday in the First Week of Lent

Strengthen us, O Lord, by your grace, that in your might we might overcome all spiritual enemies, and with pure hearts serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.
 
As we emerge from Pandemic and isolation we are overwhelmed with spiritual enemies: loneliness, frustration, anger, hatred and even violence. These spiritual enemies of the dark trip us up from the true Spirit that calls us to be embraced by God’s love. The true light of the Holy Spirit to which we should remember we are a part is manifested in Jesus, our Lord. It is through his example of wrestling with the same spiritual enemies of his time that should give us hope and confidence in our own. We are much more than these things that we perceive keep us from the love of God and neighbor and love of self. We are never from God’s love, but certainly from our neighbor and our self from time to time.
 
Purity comes from being refined in the fire. We have been and continue to be refined. Our Lord makes this possible for us as our hearts are given the “Spiritual” strength to be pure as his heart is pure. 
 
Jesus says to Peter in Matthew 16:18 “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.” We, too, can be that same rock if we remember, with pure hearts, that spiritual enemies are only fleeting when we belong to God and not to the world.

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.