Harden Not Your Hearts: A Lenten Journey in Holy Frustration

None of us will live forever, but we can surely live “in the forever.” The Risen Life invites us to a full participation in our true inheritance. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Hemos sido heridos por la ausencia de la belleza y parados a la puerta del sepulcro vacío nos comprometemos a reimaginar, reivindicar, reconstruir y regocijarnos, porque… Cristo vive. Regístrese para recibir correos electrónicos de reflexión diaria aquí: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Hemos sido heridos por la ausencia de la belleza y parados a la puerta del sepulcro vacío nos comprometemos a reimaginar, reivindicar, reconstruir y regocijarnos, porque… Cristo vive. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Good Friday invites us to look at the suffering we deny, the suffering we can't bear to see and feel in a world fraught with sin, death, violence, war, hate, injustice, division, poverty, and illness. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Jesus offers a model of how to address what was not in our plans—the reality that the world has not moved toward justice and peace. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Trafficking victims and survivors know all too well the passion of Christ—being sold out by someone they thought of as friend, family, romantic partner, or even spiritual leader—and turned over to the hands of those who inflict incredible violence against them. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

It's a little scary to look inward and face our own fickleness and frustration, but God is calling each of us into friendship. Our journey during Holy Week is the perfect time to answer that call. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Sometimes it would be easier to turn away than to hear the news of one more Black person killed by injustice, but Jesus' followers are called to join his stand for justice. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

We ride into Holy Week with our holy frustration on the memory of a riot—reminded that those silenced demand to be heard and that our destination is peace. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

As God's people, we are called to allow our frustration and indignation at the injustices of world to draw us toward compassion, empathy, and action. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

May we be open, inviting a sense of awe, present to the good works that make faith tangible in the world, bringing our hearts back to God. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

My image of God is too small. Or, I could say, my image of God is never big enough. This can have frustrating consequences—particularly in the face of the climate crisis. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Storytelling is a ritual in making meaning, in making room for prophetic voices. An imperfect offering, but stories can transform us. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

We are called to help one another tell a new story—one in which God is a source of our healing rather than the author of our pain.  Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Our endeavors, paired with God's grace, bring to light the world we want to live in.  Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

And when asked where they find strength to oppose the death penalty, Syl & Vicki Schieber point to today's Gospel story in John—often called The Passage of the Woman Caught in Adultery. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Our work to build a more equitable world may make others uncomfortable. But we are called to take heart, re-engage, and remain confident in God's protection. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

We encounter God who take the side of the anawim, “the little ones,” those who are poor, marginalized, brokenhearted, or “crushed in spirit.” Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Sometimes I wonder if we deserve to be saved. It's hard to argue in our favor. In my darkest moments, I'm tempted to believe that we'll never learn, never change. Fortunately, grace isn't about deserving. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

We best serve God's will by cultivating belonging—interacting and living with each other and building God's beloved community. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

When addressing racism apart from the Gospel, it cripples our ability to look for God in all people and in all things. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Our desire to see wrongs righted, our yearning for good to come amidst tragedy—these are the ways in which God reminds us that He is near. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

There is hope if we bring God's welcome and love to all people throughout the world.  Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

How are you called to think differently and to discern how to live out the responsibility of your privilege? Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

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Let us pray for the courage to heed God's call to walk in the footsteps of Jerusalem Jesus who, through us, miraculously transforms social sins into justice and grace.  Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

May God turn our exhaustion into sacred frustration that sustains our work to move beyond unjust laws toward a church and world where all can flourish. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Forgiveness has the power to make what is broken whole again. . . This Lent, if there is someone you need to forgive, harden not your heart. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Our frustrations can be the motivation we need to make the small change, have the hard conversation, or show God's love to our neighbors.  Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

You're on holy ground. Act like it. This Lent may we lean in to listen to the cries of this holy ground and be courageous enough to act. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Crafting a society rooted in equity will require patient and faithful work from many generations. But while the obstacles may be daunting, we can be sure, hoping against hope like Abraham, that our seeds will one day bear fruit. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

We've gotten good at holding opposite truths in our tired hands during the pandemic. The “and” of it all is both holy and frustrating. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

When the door has been blown wide open, and we have no other option than to look at our siblings' suffering, what do we do? Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

This Lent, how are you called to drink from Jesus' cup of holy frustration, to follow Jesus towards new life and a more just world? Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

May we not be sparing in our hospitality and mercy to those who are fleeing conflict and violence, no matter where they are coming from geographically, as we are not to be the judges. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

In our shared work for justice, power and reputation can be dangerous realities if not tempered with humility. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

We are responsible to and for one another because we are connected by something greater—by a Holy Frustration that can only become life-giving when enlivened within a community of faith. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

How can you transfigure your tangriness—tiredness and angriness—to connect with your God-given purpose and courage this Lent? Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

This Lenten season, how do you find yourself challenged by the call to live with mercy, forgiveness, compassion, and love, just as Jesus did? Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

We can be so quick to cast judgment on others: who is worthy, who is unworthy. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

How might you hear the invitation to step into the breach—to bring your community's needs to God and be assured that, if you discover that you are the answer to that need, God, who “gives good gifts,” will be with you? Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Today's readings are about second chances. We are not beyond redemption; all hope is not lost—even in the face of the grave and existential threat posed by climate change. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

We are called to build the reign of God here and now, on earth as it is in heaven—standing against anti-blackness and white body supremacy. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

On the first Monday of Lent, Annie Selak, Ph.D. reminds us that people are images of God, imago dei—and asks us to consider how recognize the dignity of others in our common work of justice. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

On the second Sunday of Lent, with Fr. James Martin, S.J., consider: in your life, what moves you away from God—and away from the call to work for a more just world? Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

On the fourth day of Lent, Yasi Mahallaty asks: In what ways can you learn to search for God's light in all of the messiness of life, so as to keep your heart open and committed to the work of justice? Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

In this season of fasting, what can we do differently to be in companionship with others, finding joy in the ordinary moments of our days? Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

Lauren Morton speaks of collective exhaustion— and that to fully do God's work, we must all be standing upright. How are you being called to make space for yourself or others to rest? Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

As we embark on our Lenten journey, Sr. Norma Pimentel reminds us that we must be attentive to the grace of offering ourselves in humility, to the grace of encounter—to harden not our hearts. Sign up for the accompanying daily emails here: http://igsol.net/lent-2022 (igsol.net/lent-2022)

This Lent, walk daily with writers from across the Ignatian network as we strive to turn our frustration into holy frustration, keeping our hearts open as we seek justice in our world. Featured authors include Fr. Greg Boyle, Fr. James Martin, and Sr. Norma Pimentel. Subscribe to “Harden Not Your Hearts: A Lenten Journey in Holy Frustration” today for free at http://igsol.net/lent (igsol.net/lent).