A Lenten Reflection
By Fr. Michael Mohr, SJ
During Lent, the Church invites us to draw spiritual benefits from this season of penance, modeled after the forty days Jesus spent in the desert fasting and praying.
My first experience of a desert came during high school, when I traveled to the Southwest United States to help lead a Bible school week for youth on the Navajo reservation. Surrounded by vast, expansive terrain, and regularly surrounded by low‑lying sagebrush and cedar trees covering the arid ground, I came to understand God more deeply as Creator. The longer I spent in that spacious desert, standing atop mesas and walking through canyons, the closer I felt to God, filled with awe at the beauty of creation.
Beyond evoking wonder, the desert also helped clear my mind of the clutter of daily life. The horizon was not obscured by concrete structures, there was no constant hum of city noise, and my time dedicated to service and community replaced the busyness of familiar routines back home. The desert helped refocus my sense of what is truly important by moving me out of comfortable familiarity.
In a similar way, understanding Lent as a desert experience invites us to strip away distractions and refocus on what matters most: our relationship with God. In imitation of Jesus, we enter a spiritual desert through more intentional practices of prayer, penance and service. This liturgical season calls us to pay attention to the many distractions in our lives, especially those habits, actions or preferences that keep us focused on ourselves rather than on God and the service of others. Just as Jesus allowed himself to experience hunger in the desert, we too allow ourselves to feel a deeper hunger: a longing for God’s love and mercy.
The beauty found in a desert experience leads us back to God. As we find ourselves at the close of Lent, we are invited to examine how our Lenten practices have deepened our relationship with God so far. Have we grown closer to God through prayer, meaningful penance, and generous service? In these remaining days spent in Lent’s spiritual desert, we can recommit ourselves to deepening our desire to praise, reverence and serve God, and to look with greater longing toward the renewal that awaits us on Easter morning.
Fr. Michael Mohr, SJ, is a vocation promoter for the Central and Southern Province. He was ordained a priest in 2024.
Featured photo: “Desert Southwest Foothills” ©RussellGr from Getty Images via Canva.com.
