You are invited to engage in a Lenten process of meditation and reflection based on Jesus' teaching of the 'Beatitudes'. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 25, and ends at Easter.
Choose one of Jesus' 'Blessed...' statements, and live with it throughout Lent. Each week in Lent, prompts and suggestions will appear on this site to guide your engagement with the Beatitude of your choice. Scroll down to follow the process.
Also, every week we will provide a link to an online 'Desert Files' meditation that you can do at your computer. Scroll down to the bottom of this page to access the meditations. For more on last year's Desert Files journey, click on 'the desert files' on the left hand navigation bar.
The Beatitudes
Blessed are
the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are
those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are
the meek,
for they will inherit the earth
Blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are
the merciful,
for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are
the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are
the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those
who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The Process
Before Lent
Choose your Beatitude. Reflect on why you are choosing that statement, and what it is about the associated image that drew your attention.
Guidance to help you engage with your chosen Beatitude will appear below during Lent.
Week One
25 Feb - 3 March
This week, as many days as you can manage, find a quiet space for 5 minutes, and meditate with your beatitude. You might like to use just one or two words, or the whole thing. Use the beatitude as a kind of mantra, slowly repeating the words in your mind in a pattern with your breathing. You don't need to 'think about' the words, or wonder about their meaning or apply them to your life. The coming weeks will have more of that. At this stage, simply let the words settle into you, becoming part of you, through repetition. When other thoughts or distractions come up during the meditation, simply let them go and return to your beatitude.
Week Two
4 March - 10 March
This week, journal with your beatitude. Consider re-wording it in a way that brings out its meaning for you. Ponder what Jesus meant, what he wanted his first hearers to understand, what the beatitude means in our context now. How do you feel about the statement and why? How does it concretely relate to your life, your self, and people you know? How does the second half of the statement flow from the first...what is the relationship? Pray about any questions or desires you have as a result of this journalling.
Week Three
11 March - 17 March
This week, process your beatitude through some creative practice. Draw, paint, sculpt, craft. Set it to music. Write a story that takes the beatitude as its theme. Let your creative mind tell you more about the beatitude and its relationship to your life.
Week Four
18 March - 24 March
This week, set aside one day when you will try to recall your beatitude several times throughout the day. Maybe set an alarm to go off every hour on that day. Take a minute or two at each recollection point to ask 'how does this beatitude relate to what is happening right now in my day?' whether that is in the midst of a conversation, a news story on the radio, or a task that has to be done...
Week Five
25 March - 31 March
Do one concrete action this week that helps you to express your beatitude in the world. Also, identify someone you know who exemplifies your beatitude and give them some encouragement or support.
Week Six
1 April - 7 April (Tuesday of Holy Week)
For this final week, have a conversation with someone else about the beatitude you have chosen. It need not be someone within the Christian faith, or someone familiar with the beatitudes. Talk about your own discoveries with it, and find out what angle the other person has on the same idea. How do their insights and experiences enrich your own journey?
Then, consider how the beatitude you have chosen relates to the events of Holy Week - the last supper, the Gethsemane wrestling, the betrayal and denial of Jesus, his trial and sufferings and death and burial, and the scattering or mourning of his disciples and friends. How did Jesus exemplify the beatitudes in this final part of his life? What does this say to you about your own path?
The Meditations
Week One - Distraction
25 Feb - 3 March
Week Two - Identity
4 March - 10 March
Week Three - Letting Go
11 March - 17 March
Week Four - Presence
18 March - 24 March
Week Five - Pain
25 March - 31 March
Week Six - Yes and No
1 April - 7 April (Tuesday of Holy Week)
