Setting the Tone
Whatever Jesus goes through, he breathes into us. The story told on the first Sunday of Lent, about Jesus’ temptation, sets the tone for the season to follow. So, if he endures a desert struggle, so do we. If he must assess his priorities in response to the devil’s challenges, so must we. And if he turns from the dark, destructive voice to the life-giving one, we do the same pivot.
It’s an excellent time to ask ourselves, as we should regularly: What’s going on inside? What am I hungering for? What matters most? Lent is the ideal time to tackle the tough questions: Where have we become inauthentic or sluggish? What have we neglected? Where do we need to spend more time, money or energy? How have we squandered our gifts? Knowing that physical privations are secondary to emotional suffering, we burrow deep into the soul. What obstacles block the pathway to God? What selfishness strains our compassion for others?
Kathy Coffey 
Thank you, Kathy, for reminding us of the subjects towards which we should be applying our mindful introspection ~ at all times, but especially during Lent.