As we cross the threshold into this Lenten season, we are not called immediately to frenetic activity, but to a purposeful stillness. These initial days are for the interior life—a time for listening to the murmurs of our heart.
In this quiet, I invite you to identify an injustice that genuinely pierces your spirit. Do not look away from what hurts; instead, try to unpack that ache. We often flee from our “broken heartedness,” yet where our heartbreak meets the world’s needs, a unique mission may be born.
History teaches us that the greatest discoveries and the most enduring movements for good were birthed by men and women whose hearts were shattered. They did not simply heal; they repurposed their grief into a light for others.
You need not look for global catastrophes to find your calling. Transformation often begins in the intimate soil of personal loss: We see this in parents who, after the agony of a child born with a defect or the loss of a loved one to a rare illness, founded a foundation or a research charity. They take the “injustice” of their personal tragedy and build a bridge so that others might cross more safely than they did. Consider the scientist who, having watched a friend suffer through a debilitating disease, devotes a lifetime to the laboratory. Their breakthrough is not merely a triumph of intellect, but a labor of love fueled by the memory of a face they couldn’t save.
But for most of us our Lenten mission will not be written in the headlines. If the injustice of hunger weighs heavy on your soul, your response might be the quiet, consistent service at a local food bank or soup kitchen. If you are pained by the loneliness of the elderly, your mission might be the simple act of presence.
The scale of the act matters less than the depth of the “yes.”
Remember, this first few days or weeks is not a time for the hands, but for the ears. It is a time for listening. Before we can act, we must hear clearly.
What makes your heart beat faster? What makes it heavy? Listen to the whispers of God: In the gaps between your thoughts, what is being asked?
Allow the silence to be the crucible where your purpose is refined. For now, it is enough to simply be present, trusting that where there is a wound, there is also potential.
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