This past Advent, we walked toward Christ’s Nativity with the guidance of our Good Shepherd. In between Advent and Lent is the odd stretch of Ordinary Time that one might almost want to wish away. But if there’s anything the seasons of Advent and Lent teach us, it is that preparation is important in the spiritual life, and we need this space in between to prepare our hearts for Easter. Here are some ways to shift our attention from Jesus as the Good Shepherd to Jesus as the Lamb of God.
From Protector to Fellow Human
Seeing Jesus as the Good Shepherd and the idea of God being all-powerful comes pretty naturally to us humans. Just like sheep, we are lost, broken, and confused without our Shepherd. It is God who makes conditions optimal so that, like sheep, we can survive in this world. However, sometimes we can forget that Jesus was just as human as we are. With the exception of sin, He felt human emotions to the depth that we feel them.
As we journey into Lent, we can pray with the image of Jesus’ humanity as the Lamb of God: meek, gentle, and capable of being hurt. Sometimes, we can alienate ourselves from Jesus, thinking, He must not understand the pain that I feel. However, when we think this we forget stories like the one beside the tomb of Lazarus in the Gospel of John, when “Jesus wept” (John 11:35) because He felt the depth of the pain caused by the death of His friend.
There is sometimes a temptation to give in to despair or to “not set our expectations too high” so that “our hearts do not get broken.” But this Lent, I invite you to ask Jesus to sit with you in your hopes, hurt, and everything in between. Jesus chose to represent Himself as a lamb because of His humility and His desire to meet the human race where we are. And further because an unblemished lamb was the animal sacrificed at the first Passover in the book of Exodus.
The Heart of Mary
Another way we can shift our prayer is by paying close attention to the heart of our Blessed Mother. Jesus as the Good Shepherd has many characteristics of a mother. When He calls Himself the Good Shepherd, He is carrying out His ministry and has disciples whom He is forming. In our human lives, we are extremely reliant on our parents when we are young. As we get older, we start to be able to perform the same tasks and have the same autonomy as our caregivers. Yet, we still go to them for help and advice.
This Lent is an opportunity for us to reignite our childlike characteristics as we pray with the Lamb of God. We cannot live forever in Heaven without the Lamb who died for us. “Mary had a little lamb” and His name is Jesus. This Lent, let us draw close to the heart of the Mother, whom the Lamb gave to us from His Cross (see John 19:26), allowing her to take care of us as we head towards Calvary and await Jesus’ Resurrection.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation
In Luke 15, there are multiple stories that all exemplify a return to Christ. The Parable of the Lost Sheep demonstrates Jesus as the One who leaves the rest of the sheep to chase after the one that was lost. We can experience this story in our lives by letting the Good Shepherd find us and carry us to the Sacrament of Confession as a way to prepare for the Lenten season.
In terms of seeing the Lamb of God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we must remember that the reason we are forgiven each time we step into the confessional is because the Lamb of God was slain and paid the price for our salvation. If, for the Good Shepherd, we are “the one” that He chases after, for the Lamb of God, He is “the One” who takes away the sins of the world and gives us a pathway to Salvation.
Redefining Strength
If you look at Jesus on the Cross from a worldly lens, He looks weak and helpless. But we all know that the image of Jesus on the Cross demonstrates just how grand His Love is for us—that it has the power to overcome even death. It is the ultimate symbol of strength. When a person lifts weights, she feels weak as her muscles continue to be used, but in reality, she is getting stronger. Sometimes, we reduce strength to the image of a roaring lion or someone who never cries, but the Lamb of God reminds us that experiencing weakness is actually what makes us strong. He says to us: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Sometimes we assume that God only wants our résumé virtues, but the reason that we need the Lamb of God is because we are so weak. This Lent, let us bring the parts of ourselves that we are ashamed of and the parts of ourselves that we so desperately try to get rid of to the Lord.
Spend More Time In Eucharistic Adoration
Finally, this is a time we can refocus on the Eucharist as the pinnacle of our Catholic Faith. It is what sets us apart from the rest of the world and gives meaning to our lives. The Eucharist is a reminder of the Lamb of God that is graspable by our minds, though still beyond our full understanding. In order to become as meek as the Lamb of God, we must spend time with Him. One of my all-time favorite quotes about Eucharistic Adoration is from Venerable Fulton Sheen, who says, “We become what we gaze upon. Looking into the sunset the face takes on a golden glow. Looking at the Eucharistic Lord for an Hour transforms the Heart in a mysterious way.”
As we enter a season of fasting, prayer and almsgiving, let us spend more time looking at the Lamb of God than scrolling through social media or letting the noise of the world get to our hearts.
Get your Lenten devotional, Rescued: Lent with the Lamb of God, here.
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