The 40 days of Lent can be a time to refresh and deepen our faith and our commitment to God, just as Jesus did in his time in the wilderness. The word "lent" comes from old English meaning, "to lengthen" as in "the lengthening of days – increasing hours of daylight." So from this, we may understand Lent is to be a time when we experience more of the Light and warmth of God in our lives.

Lent may also be a time when we discover for maybe the first time that God has been seeking us, and how close God has been to us all the time. May this season of Lent be a time in your life when you know and feel God's Grace more deeply.

The following series of readings are the Gospel passages for the Sundays through Lent. Why just one reading for each week? By staying with one reading over a number of days, we take more time to hear the "Word" in greater depth and clarity. By staying with the same material, we discipline ourselves to learn to wait upon the Lord and not satisfy the urge to be distracted by "new things."

Each passage is accompanied by a thought or question that you may find helpful for meditation.

March 1-7, Lent 1, Mark 1:9-15: Imagine God saying to you at your baptism, "You are my beloved, my own. On you my favour rests." Spend time with this.

March 8-14, Lent 2, Mark 8:31-38: What have your burdens or crosses been? Did you lose a piece of yourself during these? Did you gain more of your freedom?

March 15-21, Lent 3, John 2:13-22: In what ways has your temple, (your body) been taken over by consumerism? Can you let go of any of these?

March 22-28, Lent 4, John 3:14-21: God sends the Son in Love; invite his light to shine upon you.

March 29-April 4, Lent 5, John 12:20-33: What is the fruit of your life? What is the purpose God has given you?

April 5-11, Sunday of the Passion, Mark 14:1-15:47: Imagine yourself as someone there in Jerusalem. What do you see happening? What do you feel? What does it all mean? Read the passage. Wait in silence for a few moments and then read it again on your own. Sit in silence till all have read this.

Place yourself prayerfully in the story as one of the characters and reflect on what this means to you.

Discuss with your group about this for about 20 minutes.
How does this affect your life/where does this story intersect with your life?
Find a quiet space to settle in and reread this passage.

1. Relax. Settle in. Be aware that God is here, now, loving you.
2. Read this passage as though God were speaking directly to you in it.
3. Choose a phrase from the passage that strikes you and repeat it slowly, prayerfully, non-analytically.
4. When your heart is full, express to God the needs and sentiments awakened by your meditation.
5. If, at any time, you feel moved to simply be present to God in loving silence, put the reading aside and rest in God.

Part 3 Many Ways to Pray

Continuing with our Series on Prayer: Using our Sight to Pray

by Ken Watts

The oldest icon of Christ Pantocrator, encaustic on panel, c. 6th century (Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai).

When learning about icons, it is important to understand when and where icons were first developed. Historically, religious icons originated in the world of the eastern Mediterranean in the later centuries of the declining Roman Empire (c. 3rd century). This helps to explain why icons have never been a "big hit" in the west, except for stained glass windows. At the time icons first came into being, there was much tension between the Greek east and the Latin west, culturally, linguistically, politically and theologically. As a result even to this day, large parts of the western church view icons with suspicion and confusion, as either bad artistry, as elementary attempts at portraiture or more seriously as possibly a violation of the Commandment about "graven images." Those who created Icons spent some weeks in fasting and prayer. Icons were mentioned along with the cross, the gospels and were given equal values as scripture in the year 787.

Icons are none of these. In our age where we are constantly being bombarded visually by advertising and the media with commercial icons (ex. your favourite sports team, make of vehicle or TV channel), religious icons can serve as a counter-balance to the commercial pressure of our society and also deepen our spiritual lives. In the same way that we feel affected by watching violent television or movies, "watching" an icon (if I can put it that way) helps us to draw closer in stillness to God's abiding presence.

But praying with an icon may present an unusual adjustment. Many spiritual disciplines require a level of activity such as singing, praying aloud or physical movement. Praying using an icon for a visual focus is a form of meditational prayer that works best when we become silent and attentive, simply beholding the image portrayed in whatever icon we have before us. For example, looking at an icon of Jesus for a few minutes each day for a week, can draw us into a closer awareness of Our Lord's abiding presence with us throughout the rest of day.

For some of us, this may not be easy for we are used to living in a society that values concrete activity, which is measurable, as opposed to sitting quietly which outwardly appears to be pointless. Yet using icons in prayer can help us to experience the truth talked about in "they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength." (Isaiah 40:31) and "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).

How do you pray with an icon? I find that sitting before an icon by candlelight, helps me to quiet myself, before doing my daily prayers. It is like meditating in that you are not trying to think of anything. Rather it is learning to sit in a quiet way where you are present to what is in the icon. If an icon is of Jesus, simply be with Jesus. He may or may not "say" anything to you, as in some impression that forms in your mind; if nothing seems to be happening, not to worry. God takes this willingness to be open to God and works more deeply within us than our conscious mind (which can only swim around the surface of the deep ocean of our souls) can ask or imagine. A great mystic, Meister Eckhart said, "the eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me." Everything we see is a potential icon of God.

What might God be doing deep down within us? Possibly God is touching our hearts and minds and souls, where we need to be touched. God may reshape childhood illusions so that we approach life a little more realistically, gradually or suddenly heal wounds we are unaware of, or God might gently remove walls that allow us to move more by God's Grace than by compulsion. A graced eye at its fullest is a gift of God. And yet we can dispose ourselves of this grace of sight, just as we do with sound.

Sitting with an icon can also "carve" into our short and long-term memories images (icons) that help us to recall God's closeness. In the case where the icon is of a Biblical scene like Jesus' birth, the Last Supper, or some act of healing, we carry within us an abiding sense of God's action and faithfulness to all God's people. In just these few words I hope I have given you a sense of how icons can help our prayer lives. To learn more I would recommend the following books "Praying with Icons" by Jim Forest; "Behold the Beauty of the Lord, Praying with Icons" by Henri J.M. Nouwen; "The Dwelling of the Light" and "Ponder These Things Praying with the Icons of the Virgin" both by Rowan Williams.