In this Autumn edition of Madonna, our daily prayers feature a more personal and intimate exploration of the Gospel stories of the Lenten season. Each day, our guest writer delves into the Gospel to find a way out of the darkness that they find themselves in.
It’s a series of reflections that speaks to people who are struggling. Our writer raises questions that many of us inevitably ask of God in difficult times: Why do bad things happen? Why do people suffer? Where is justice to be found? We journey with our writer as they seek answers to those questions in the Gospel stories, to find healing for their pains, to find meaning and hope in their suffering.
Lent is a journey from life to death, from light to darkness. The Gospels follow Jesus through the last days of his ministry and last moments with his closest followers, to his suffering on the way to Calvary and his death on the cross.
However, Lent is also a journey from death to life, from darkness to light. The Lenten Gospels share stories of Jesus’ encounters with people who have lost all hope, and see their lives transformed as they encounter the message and works of the Son of God.
‘The night will soon be here’, Jesus tells his disciples in the Gospel of John, as the time of his death approaches. But his warning comes with a promise: ‘As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world.’
Without hope, without faith, all of us live in darkness. Ultimately, the Lenten journey reminds us that no matter how dark our pathways become, Jesus is always walking with us, showing us the way.
Cover image: ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’. © Kim Carpenter, 2016 Mandorla Art Award finalist. Acrylic. Courtesy the artist and mandorlaart.com.
