Preparing Our Hearts
The love we celebrate on Valentine’s Day prepares us for a journey towards remembering the ultimate act of love – when Jesus died and rose for all.
Valentine’s Day is days away, but so is Lent!
February 14 elicits different emotions. For the single heart, it can be a day of loneliness. For the dating and married, it is a day to show one’s love. And yet for others, it’s somewhere it between the former and the latter.
Yet, regardless of how one celebrates February 14, Valentine’s Day is a reminder that we are each loved deeply, intrinsically, and fully by God.
The love we celebrate on Valentine’s Day prepares us for a journey towards remembering the ultimate act of love – when Jesus died and rose for all.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, and this marks the beginning of a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Ash Wednesday is always around the time of Valentine’s Day. Some years Valentine’s falls before Lent begins, some after, and even sometimes on the same day as Ash Wednesday (which is sad for chocolate lovers everywhere)!
Lent is a time prepare our hearts and to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice – God sending His Son into the world to save us from all our wrongdoings. On Valentine’s Day, we show our love for others through gifts, kind words, and thoughtful gestures. During Lent, we give up things that bring us comfort, in an act of denial of self and pursuit of closeness with the Father.
Both Valentine’s Day and Lent are opportunities to share love. On Valentine’s, we show our love for others. During Lent, we are invited to love God and others through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
And when it comes to fasting, this doesn’t always mean from food. We can fast from the things that distract us from God, so that we can hear His voice better during the Lenten season.
This Valentine’s Day, remember how much the Father loves you: enough to send His only son into the world to save you.
He went on a rescue mission.
Let us prepare our hearts and make space for Him.
In Christ,