The first reading from today has always been a difficult one for me. “Whoa, Lord, you’re asking Abraham to sacrifice his son like you would have him kill and roast an animal? I’m not sure about this.” What’s even more flooring to me is Abraham’s quick willingness to do it. 

But the Lord has been slowly and surely softening my heart and reordering my priorities to show me that Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice is not something to scoff at but something to look up to. Abraham’s priorities were exactly right. He realized that the Lord was his ultimate treasure, and that anything else he had, including his beloved son, he only had because it was given to him by the Lord.

And now when I read this passage, I’m sobered by how far off I am from being like Abraham in my willingness to sacrifice to the Lord. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only beloved son, but I struggle to give up my lenten sacrifice of netflix or speeding or sweets to the Lord! I can barely keep myself from eating those peanut butter m&m’s hidden away in my room, and that’s such a measly sacrifice compared to Abraham’s offering to the Lord or Jesus’ death on the cross for me!

But the voice of the Lord is quick to speak over that hopelessness, a gentle and understanding voice. Our sacrifices may seem measly to us, but they matter to Him. Whether it’s something small like a Lenten sacrifice of chocolate or something much larger like a relationship that’s causing us to turn from Him, He understands the pain of sacrifice and treasures each one we make. 

A year and a half ago, when I graduated from college, I said yes to serving as a missionary on a college campus with an organization that’s based all around the country. It was very difficult for me to say yes to this invitation from the Lord, because in doing so, I would give up the ability to choose where I was placed. Giving up living near my family to serve the Lord in Minnesota, a 10 hour drive from home, was such a hard thing to do, but the Lord rewarded me with a life that is better than I ever could have anticipated.

What that sacrifice has taught me is that when we are willing to give up something precious for the sake of following the Lord, His reward is greater than we can ever imagine. So whatever the Lord might be asking you to sacrifice today, take heart that He never let us win in generosity. ​

​Take a step back and consider why you are making your chosen sacrifices this Lent. Pray about how they are leading you deeper into relationship with God, and look for the ways the Lord is being generous to you during this season.

Today's prayer was prepared by Catie Destatte, a Saint Paul's Outreach Missionary at University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, MN.  
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​Fast today from your phone any time you are in the room with someone else. Looking up at people, ask how you can help them. How can you serve someone else when you aren't looking inward?

​Take time to pray today about how you can repent of your sin and turn to God. Schedule time to do a good examination of conscience and get to Confession this week.

Today's prayer was prepared by Adam Smyth, a high school youth minister at Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in Ellicott City, MD. 
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These readings are incredibly close to the heart of God.

Queen Esther is doing exactly what Jesus urges us to do in the Gospel— go to the Father as His beloved child and ask boldly for what you need and for what you desire. 

Is this something you find challenging? It definitely was (and still is) for me.

I grew up believing that if I asked God for anything, it was selfish and ungrateful. How dare I ask for anything from God when I have a beautiful life? How dare I ask for anything when others do not have what I have?

And to take it one step further, if I did ask God for what I desired and He didn’t give it to me, I believed it was because I was wrong— I was selfish, ungrateful, not trusting enough, didn’t pray hard enough, etc. 

Do you see the tactics of the enemy at play here—> I shouldn’t ask because it is wrong, and when God doesn’t give me what I desire, it is because I am wrong.

Y’all (I am from Texas so when I say “y’all”, I mean business), this is not of God! The enemy wants to shame you from approaching God’s heart with filial trust, and he wants to shame you through despair as you look at your own heart. But y’all. The truth is that God always wants us to come to Him, no matter what, and the truth is that God calls us “very good”. We must come to our Father to know who He is and who we are.

But before I close I do want to acknowledge something that can be challenging when it comes to approaching God with our needs and desires.

Asking God for what we need, and especially for what we desire, is very vulnerable because our deepest desires are what we hold most dear. If we give them to God, will He come through? Equally challenging and vulnerable is asking God for things when we feel He has let us down in the past. However, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, what I want to say is this, even when I received a “no” from God, even when it felt painful to show God my heart, it was in daily prayer that I was reminded that He was my Father. Tender, compassionate, only looking out for my good. I was reminded that my Father created the world, my Father promised and gave a Savior, my Father made Abraham the father of many nations, my Father split the Red Sea, my Father fed the Israelites in the wilderness, my Father gave sight to the blind, my Father restored families and those on the margins, my Father said all things work out for the good of those who love Him. My Father is a Father who makes good on His promises.

These readings are incredibly close to God’s heart because they express His greatest desire- that you, HIs beloved child, would simply come to Him.

Lord, what is it that I desire and need?
Lord, where am I not asking You for what I really desire? Why?
Lord, what do I believe about Your heart and about mine? Why?

God the Father is trustworthy.
God is for me.
I am His beloved.

Write down 5 characteristics of Jesus’ heart (ex. tender) and how He has proved those characteristics in your life (ex. He didn’t judge me when I complained to Him about an annoyance in my life.). Put them on your bathroom mirror for a day or two just to be reminded!