Lent is said to be an enriching time of regeneration and spiritual growth. But sometimes the sacrifices we make can make us embittered and cause a bit of a bad mood. To the point of wanting to abandon them.
During Lent, spiritual efforts are not always easy to maintain and we sometimes find it difficult to remain faithful to them. To counter these moments of frustration, Saint Claude de la Colombière, the spiritual director of Saint Marguerite-Marie Alacoque, suggested going to school in the heart of Jesus in order to learn compassion, patience and tenderness.
During his Passion, Jesus never complained but offered his sacrifice in love. During Lent, it is in his heart that we can take refuge in search of a peace that the world cannot give us. Here is a short prayer from Saint Claude de la Colombière which sums it up well and which can help us find peace in the sometimes more difficult moments of Lent. By saying this prayer, we come to drink from the heart of Jesus, the only source of true peace.
May the Heart of Jesus be our school. Let us stay there during this Lent. Let’s study the movements and try to conform to ours. Yes, divine Jesus, I want to stay there, pour all my gall into this Heart; he will soon have consumed it. I’m not afraid that impatience will come to attack me in this retreat. There I will practice silence, resignation to your divine will, invincible constancy. I go to pray every day to thank you for my crosses and to ask your forgiveness for those who persecute me. I’m going to work hard to acquire this patience. I know this is not a day’s work; but it’s enough that I know that it can be done through hard work. I ask you for your prayers, O sweet Jesus. You have offered them for your enemies, do not refuse them to me, who wishes to love you, even to love the cross and my enemies for the love of you.