What if this Lent we didn’t approach the practices of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting with an eye to what we can do to transform ourselves, but rather with an eye to what God wants to do in order to transform us?

Too often we approach Lent as though it were a series of New Year’s resolutions: to give up a particular bad habit, or share more with the poor, or be more faithful to prayer. But Lent is not about self-improvement. Lent is a time of conversion in which God is in charge of our conversion. Not us.

Lent is not a project of self-improvement. Rather, it’s a time of allowing God to transform us. Lent is a time of intentional cooperation with God’s graces, where God leads and we follow, like a good dance partner. We can choose to follow or not, but God is always in the lead.

What might this look like in practice? The answer will be individual for each one of us, and so a Lent of following God’s lead must be grounded in prayer. We can listen for the voice of God and let ourselves be surprised by what the call in Lent might be.

From dotMagis, the blog of IgnatianSpirituality.com