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Thursday, March 5, 2026

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Abide in Him

Abide in Him

Taking our thoughts captive for Lent

Lent is a time we do spiritual battle. Since the best defense is a good offense, we ought to begin as Christ did, by spending time with God in prayer and fasting, rooting us in his truth and love.
Abide in Him

Christ our teacher

The prophet Isaiah delivered this hope: “No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, and your ears shall hear a word behind you: ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Is 30:20b-21). With so much uncertainty in life on the one hand and opportunity on the other, we all yearn for that wise person to show us what to do and how to do it. We look for someone we can be confident knows the way and won’t lead us astray. Thankfully, Isaiah’s prophecy has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and we have such a teacher near to us and eager to instruct us.
Abide in Him

God’s humility and gentleness

“God is love,” St. John writes in his first letter. Such a simple phrase, and yet plumbless in its depths. Father Romano Guardini, in his book “The Lord,” reflected that to understand the kind of love God is, given his self-revelation in Jesus Christ, we must also say that “God is humble.” 
Abide in Him

God’s power in man

God is all-powerful, and when he made us in his image he bestowed some of that power upon us, too. As children of God, Adam and Eve were to take part in God’s work — to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the Earth. In God, power is coupled with love and expressed through self-gift, and so their power was meant for the same purpose.
Abide in Him

The need for Christian formation

When St. Augustine penned “The City of God,” he contrasted pagan culture, marked by the values and practices of fallen human nature, with Christian culture, marked by the love of God and grace.
Abide in Him

Full hearts

God is love, and we are made in his image. Therefore, the perfection of the human person means becoming perfect in love. Lest we rationalize a way to lower the bar for ourselves, Jesus made this standard clear, saying, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” The word perfect doesn’t refer to the absurd perfectionistic standards driven by our hyper-competitive culture.
Abide in Him

The compassion of Christ

During Holy Week, we draw near to Christ, remembering his final battle with sin and Satan on our behalf. No one had the power to crucify him against his will. Therefore, as St. Augustine concluded, “It was of compassion, then, that he suffered.”
Abide in Him

Time alone together

Time alone with our Lord is essential to intimacy with him. In addition to daily connection, periodic spiritual retreats can deepen one’s relationship with him tremendously. Most parishes offer Advent and Lenten mini retreats that can be perfect opportunities to step away from our busy lives and draw inward.
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