Becoming God’s works of art means handing ourselves over to be recreated in Christ, shaped by the Father’s love and given a new life in the Holy Spirit. This happens most profoundly when we give up on our own efforts. When we find ourselves finally exiled, lost, at the dead end of our own plans and weaknesses we then realize that what we have driven out is Christ, then we can look on Him and His love and be healed.
Thinking about this in Lent is especially important. We are encouraged by the Church to observe Lent through deepened prayer, more frequent fasting and a greater sharing of what we have. At this stage in Lent many of us will be feeling pleased at what a “successful” Lent we’re having; we’ve stuck to our disciplines and are beginning to feel pretty pleased with our spiritual progress! So let’s be happy in our Lenten journey, and share that smile of God’s love for us a bit more this week. Next time we know we are getting in a mess, instead of simply making bigger efforts of our own, let’s call on Jesus first, and allow ourselves to know the joy of His help in all attempts to love better.