Have you ever heard life described as a pilgrimage? A journey that is leading to our final end, which is union with God in heaven?

This idea is an ancient one in the Christian tradition. The idea is that from our birth to our death, we are walking the road of life sustained by God, the Creator. But we are not created for this earth. 

Our God-given souls were created with an innate longing for union with our Creator, and we spend our whole lives looking for this love and this belonging. Sometimes we look for it in the right places and we journey closer to Christ. Sometimes we are distracted by the goods of the world and we make detours down paths that do not lead us toward our final destination.

Each year, the season of Lent presents us with an opportunity to correct our course, to take stock of where we are in the path of life and to redirect our eyes and our steps to the road that leads us closer to our destiny in heaven.

Let's explore how Lent offers us a chance to correct our course and talk about ways you can journey this Lent.

Lent as a Spiritual Reset

Imagine you're road-tripping across the country. Your destination is the Rocky Mountains and you've been planning a trip there for your whole life. Along the way, you decide to stop and visit friends. Your friends give you a warm welcome, offer you plenty to eat and drink, and before you know it, you've spent three weeks at their house and have almost forgotten why you came there in the first place.

This happens to us all the time in the spiritual life. We set our eyes on Christ, we are inspired to move toward him, we set goals for our prayer life and our almsgiving. However, time goes by and suddenly we're snoozing our alarm instead of getting up for Mass or picking up coffee for the fifth time that week instead of giving money to our favorite charity.

God is good in that he always beckons us back to himself. No matter how far we stray or how hard we fall, Jesus always awaits our return. Our faith is beautifully designed to help us weak human beings to grow in holiness and remember what we are created for. While we can reset spiritually at any time of the year, the season of Lent is a time the Church has set aside specifically for spiritual renewal, a time to remember the journey we are on and begin to move again toward our goal of heaven.

The best thing about Lent is that it's a spiritual reset that takes place in community with every other believer around the world. 

Join Our Community of Prayer This Lent

We all need the loving support and example of others to take on new devotions and new efforts to grow spiritually. The Body of Christ exists to care for, strengthen and pray for one another, and the season of Lent joins us all in a common effort of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Unite with the whole community of Divine Word Missionaries’ friends and supporters as we enter into this season of Lent by signing up to pray with us every Sunday.

When you join us in prayer, you'll receive

• An email each Sunday with a Lenten meditation from one of our missionaries based on the coming Sunday’s readings
  
  
• The Scripture readings for the week
  
  
• Reasons for joy and beauty during Lent

When you sign up for this weekly devotional, you’ll get a chance to encounter Christ right in your inbox through the day’s scripture readings and a simple meditation. You’ll get a chance to read meditations written by Divine Word Missionaries as they reflect on Lent and on their missionary calling.

You will be united not only with others who are praying through this Lenten devotional, but also with our missionaries around the world and the people they serve.

Lent is a communal journey, a journey of deeper love, deeper sacrifice and deeper joy. We look forward to walking the next 40 days with you.