THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Offaly columnist reflects on love that stays and acts

This year Lent is a Holy season in a broken world. We begin Lent this year not in a quiet or settled world, but in a wounded one. A glance at the headlines is enough to tell the story, war and violence, abuse and hurt, injustice and displacement, droughts and food insecurity, illness and grief, fear and uncertainty. Our world feels heavy. Divided. Unsteady. Hearts ache. Minds search for peace. Souls hunger for hope. Many people are simply trying to get through the day carrying burdens no one else can see. And yet, into this fractured landscape, God does not withdraw. God does not abandon the world in its brokenness. Instead, God speaks softly and persistently into the noise: “Return to me with all your heart.” (Joel 2:12). Not with perfection. Not with answers. But with honesty. Lent is not an escape from reality. Lent is an invitation to step more deeply into it with God.

The empowerment of Lent

As we all know, Lent is a season of prayer, fasting, giving, reflection, and unity with God. But sometimes, in the midst of it, we miss its deeper power. For me, Lent is an attitude, an attitude of honesty and humility. It is a time to pause and ask, "Where do I really find God in my life?" Especially now, when the world feels so fragile. In these worrying times, many are searching for a way forward. And Lent gently reminds us that before we rush to fix the world, we must first gather around the table of the Lord. We come hungry.

We come tired. We come unsure. And there, God feeds us with a love this world cannot give. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never hunger.” (John 6:35). This Lent, let us gather, break bread, and allow ourselves to be filled, so that we may go out and share what we have received.

God is waiting for that moment when we finally realize that the way He fills us is deeper, richer, and more sustaining than anything else we chase. We can do better. We can pray better. We can love better. We can do better. We can be better. Not through force of will, but through grace.

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The desert and the way through it

I am a Lent person. This season speaks deeply to me. Lent is a familiar journey into the desert. The desert is dry. Silent. Uncomfortable. It mirrors the feeling many have today, that God seems absent, that hope is scarce, that systems meant to protect the vulnerable instead play games with human lives. Pope Francis reminded us, “If our celebration of Lent is to be concrete, the first step is to open our eyes to reality." Awareness matters. But Lent is not meant to leave us stranded in the desert. What lies beyond the desert is freedom. And the way through it is not shortcuts or distractions, but a deeper intimacy with Jesus. To know Him more closely. To love Him more deeply. To desire to be more like Him in the ordinary, messy reality of daily life. Only then can we discern how to carry His truth and love into a suffering world. As Saint Mother Teresa told me on more than one occasion, "Be only all for Jesus."

The Six Pillars: A prayer in motion

The Church gives us six pillars to guide us, prayer, fasting, eucharist, adoration, confession and charity. They are not punishments. They are invitations. Prayer and adoration grounds us. Fasting clears space. Eucharist feeds us and nourishes us and others. Confession turns love inward. Charity turns love outward. These pillars work together. Fasting without charity becomes self-absorption. Charity without prayer becomes burnout. Prayer without action becomes empty words. Prayer, adoration and eucharist must run through everything, not only the familiar prayers of Mass or habit, but the deeper prayer that brings us face to face with God in silence, adoration, reconciliation, and truth. The prayer where we finally hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit beneath the chaos of our lives. Lent is an opportunity to reconcile, reassess, realign, refocus, reset and re-empower our hearts. As Pope Francis said, it is a chance to “get back on track.” Jesus is not primarily concerned with what we give up. He is concerned with what holds our hearts captive. Lent is the person at the back of the temple who whispers, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:13). That prayer changes everything.

A Cross we all carry

Each Lent invites us to reflect more deeply on the meaning of life and suffering. Each of us, at some point, is handed a cross. Some crosses are visible such as illness, bereavement, homelessness, job loss, broken relationships. Others are hidden such as loneliness, addiction, depression, anxiety, exhaustion. Often, we have no idea what silent battles people are fighting. This Lent, let us keep in our prayers all those who wake up each day carrying a heavy burden. And let Lent move us beyond prayer into presence. Lent can be small. Lent can be ordinary. Lent can be quietly heroic. Lent can be a smile on a dark day. A listening ear. A hand held. A meal shared. A phone call made. A tear wiped away. Lent does not take us away from ordinary life, it invites us to find God there.

Finding God on the streets of Calcutta

I learned this lesson in a way that changed me forever. One cold, foggy morning in Calcutta, while working with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, I noticed a woman lying near the entrance to Sealdah Railway Station. She was wrapped in a torn blanket, trembling from the cold. She had leprosy. Her fingers were falling off. One foot was partially detached. People passed her by without stopping. I remember whispering, “God, why are you not helping her?" And then it became painfully clear, God was helping her. God had sent me. Her name was Mara Davida. I carried her through the crowds, placed her in a taxi, and rushed her to Kali-ghat, the Home for the Dying. Along the way, she told me her story, a story of poverty, abuse, and abandonment. By the time we arrived, I no longer knew who was saving whom. Along with Fr. Eamon Kelly, one of my best friends in life from Donegal and the Mother Teresa Sisters who were working in the house for the dying, we cared for her. Her foot was amputated. She died days later, surrounded not by neglect, but by dignity, prayer, and love. She did not die alone. That moment planted something deep in me, a calling to help the poor, the broken, the sick, the homeless, the abandoned, the forgotten. I have failed at it many times. I still do. But Lent reminds me that what matters is not perfection, it is not giving up.

“Whatever you did for the least…”

Jesus leaves us no room for indifference. “I was hungry and you gave me food… whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40). The corporal works of mercy such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and imprisoned, force us to see Christ where we might least expect Him. They remind us that Christ works through us. That the Kingdom of God is built not someday, but now. That love delayed is often love denied. There is an old story of a man pretending to be a priest whose prayer heals a dying child, not because of his holiness, but because of the father’s faith. That story tells the truth about all of us. We all wear masks. We all fall short. We all pretend at times. Lent is the season where we are invited to lay those masks down and let God do the healing work we cannot do ourselves.

Ashes, reflection, and a fresh look

“You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” These words are not meant to frighten us, but to focus us. Life is precious because it is fragile. Love matters because time is limited. Lent is the Church’s annual reset button. A chance to slow down. To reflect. To make space. As nature begins to shift, sunshine followed by rain, buds struggling into bloom, we are invited to take a fresh look at the interior of our hearts. To notice where God stirs. To pay attention to the quiet movements of grace. And sometimes, God speaks with humour too, like the voice that thundered to the painter who thinned his paint too much: “Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!” Lent asks us to stop thinning our faith, our compassion, our commitment and to live more fully.

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Thought for the week

As your thought for the week, remember that every person you meet is loved by God. Every encounter holds holy possibility. Fast from fear; feast on faith. Fast from despair; feed on hope. Fast from bitterness; feed on forgiveness. Fast from words that wound; feast on words that heal. Above all, do not pass by. If someone needs help, perhaps God has sent you. Let me leave you with one of my prayers for your Lenten Days, "God of life and love, in this holy season of Lent, draw us back to You. Help us to let go when it is time to let go, and to trust You in seasons of uncertainty. Keep our hearts from growing cold. Open our eyes to the suffering around us. Give us courage to love when it is costly and patience when we do not yet see the harvest. Renew us. Restore us. And send us out so that in a wounded world, we may be signs of Your mercy, love and compassion for all. Amen."