In the original Lent, the Lord Jesus fasted to the limits of human weakness. He was desperately hungry, utterly exhausted. Although He is a divine Person, He relied on angels to give Him strength in His body.
Lent is our opportunity to explore the same depths of weakness. The smallness and debility of our human nature will never cease to amaze us. It is humiliating. We are ridiculously feeble.
The Lord leads us out into the desert to discover our pathetic weakness for a very good reason. He does not humiliate us arbitrarily. He is trying to get us to follow His teaching:
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you…
Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. (Matthew 7)
Father, we are wretchedly clueless! We are pathetically inept! Help us, please!
Father, thank you for this. This is my mantra today “Father, I am wretchedly clueless! I am pathetically inept! Help me, please!”
thanks for your prayer. I realize what a “spoiled, selfish person I have and probably always be. Do I need help? yep. thanks, Padre.