{"id":612,"date":"2011-02-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-02-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/angelsonyourshoulder\/2011\/02\/fearless-friday-lent-is-almost-here.html"},"modified":"2011-02-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-02-25T00:00:00","slug":"fearless-friday-lent-is-almost-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/angelsonyourshoulder\/2011\/02\/fearless-friday-lent-is-almost-here.html","title":{"rendered":"Fearless Friday: Lent is almost here"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lent is the forty-day period before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday March 9, 2011 and ends on April 23, 2011, which is the day before Easter. In the Roman Catholic Church Lent officially ends at sundown on Holy Thursday, with the mass commemorating the Lord’s Supper.

Forty days to deepen your connect to love<\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

Whether you are a practicing Christian or not this is a wonderful opportunity for you to deepen your connection and expand your awareness of the sea of unconditional love we always swim in. what if you decided to meditate daily for the next forty days? What if you took a few minutes each day to pray? I can guarantee the quality of your life would improve immensely.<\/p>\n

Prayer and meditation<\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

My favorite prayer is the one attributed to St Francis. I find reading it slowly and allowing myself to absorb the concepts very comforting. I often read it before I meditate. What a wonderful thing to do on a daily basis for forty days and forty nights.<\/p>\n

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.<\/p>\n

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen<\/p>\n

Here is a wonderful video of it being sung by Sarah MacLachlan:<\/p>\n