That you may have Life

If I have felt unprepared and unready for Lent, well that is only me. I should have known that the Lord would be prepared and ready. All I had to do was sit in stillness and quiet and acceptance and listen. A friend gave me a small book using writings from the great Saints - Saints that include Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Meister Eckhart, Francis de  Sales, Teresa of Avila and so on as a guide through Lent.

Lacking anything better but with little inclination I began to read and to meditate as the book suggested.

Today opened with these words from Hildegard of Bingen.

We are born, each of us, with a desire for good

and a lust for evil.

We are called to life

and attracted to death.

We hear "do good"

and we respond "choose pleasure"

Sometimes when God reaches out to us

we disdain him.

Finally it occurred to me to look at the title of the book I was reading and I was stopped in my tracks to discover it. "That you may have Life" was not what I was expecting, given my recent preoccupation with death. 

I wonder anew and with gratitude at the Grace, the Saving Grace that enlightens my small life.