What is the point of Lent? Is it just another thing the Church wants us to do for some obscure historical reason? Or is there something deeper we should expect from Lent? That God actually has a plan for you this Lent?

Ash Wednesday reveals God’s plan! In the first reading, God speaks through the prophet Joel and says, “Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.” Lent is God’s extraordinary invitation for each of us to return to Him with our “whole heart.” We receive ashes as a memento mori - a visible reminder that our earthly bodies are dust and at death to dust they will return. Yet we have a choice about where our souls will go at the end of life’s journey, and God invites us to return to him where he is waiting to greet us with eternal life.

But how do we return to God? Ash Wednesday’s readings point the way. Psalm 51 says, “For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always; Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight. A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.”  We acknowledge our sin and ask the Lord to give us a clean heart - a whole heart with which we may return to God. The second reading from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians implores us on behalf of Christ to, “be reconciled to God” and not to wait, because “Now is an acceptable time!” And in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus instructs us on the familiar Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, through which we cooperate with God’s grace to cleanse our hearts.

But what kind of cleansing do our hearts need? Is giving up chocolate again this Lent enough to get in that deep clean? I argue that the best way for cleansing and changing our hearts is through encountering Christ, much like different people did in the gospel readings we will hear on the Sundays throughout Lent. I invite you to pay attention to these encounters and put yourself in the place of those who Jesus meets. Ask yourself how those in the gospels respond to Jesus, and then reflect on how you respond.

Our daily meditations are designed to aid you in this process by sharing personal stories about our parishioners’ encounters with Christ. Each week, we will unpack the Sunday gospel and you will hear how our brothers and sisters in Christ have experienced Jesus like those in the gospel story. In these personal reflections, you will find struggles with temptation, unexpected encounters with the Lord, revelations of identity in Christ, deep inner healing, and faith-inspiring miracles.

This Lent, the Lord is inviting you to return to Him with your whole heart. Encountering Jesus cleanses our hearts and makes them whole. I challenge you to open your hearts to the Lord, welcome him into the places in need of cleansing and healing, and as Lent unfolds, allow him to show you his passion for you through his Passion on the Cross.

Fr. Adam Droll was born and raised in San Angelo, TX, and is currently the Parochial Administrator of Holy Family Catholic Church where he daily reminds us all that we are a "Child of God."