Session 1: Ash Wednesday

Today, make time for real solitude… Find a place where you can be completely alone… or better still a place where you can be completely yourself… Allow the minutes to lengthen… Let the seconds stretch out… Feel the hours begin to beckon… Open your ears to listen like a disciple…

Matthew 6:5-6

‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

As you hear these words of Jesus, seek out a place of solitude in yourself… the place where you can let down your guard… the place where there is nothing to hide… the place where you can go to just be yourself… Let stillness envelope you… Fathom your depths… Allow yourself to go a little deeper than before…

When you arrive in that place, immerse yourself in solitude… Notice the desires swirling within you… the desire to please others… the desire to have what others have… the desire to be what others are… Begin to untangle yourself from those desires so that you can discover the threads of your deepest desire…

See more clearly now the selfhood the world has taken away… See how it is given back to you in solitude… As you enter more deeply into this moment of prayer, notice something stirring… Become aware of a silent longing for a presence… Nurture that silent longing… and seek out the God for whom you yearn… Speak to Jesus about what you discover in solitude… or become present to him in silence…

You have given all to me
To you, Lord, I return it
Everything is Yours, do with it what You will
Give me only Your love and Your grace,
That is enough for me.
Amen.