Lent Video One — God’s Invitation: Turn to Me

By Fr. Ron Will, CPPS

Greetings from Precious Blood Renewal Center in Liberty, Missouri. During the season of Lent, we are invited to follow Jesus more closely than ever through prayer, fasting, and alms giving.

As an aid to prayers, we are beginning a series of video reflections. Each video will be about 10 minutes in length, long enough to give you some worthwhile thoughts for the next couple days, but not too long so that you might say, oh, that’s too long. I don’t have time for that. I hope that you will tune in regularly.

During the season of Lent, God calls us to turn toward him and develop a deeper and more personal relationship. A song titled “Turn to Me,” written by John Foley, sets the tone for this reflection and the reflections to come. It’s a song probably familiar to many of you. I invite you to sing along in your own home or just sit back and listen.

In the 1500s, there was a painter in Italy named Caravaggio. He painted a number of famous artistic works, and one of them is called “The Call of Matthew.” It’s based on that passage in the gospel where Jesus calls Matthew the tax collector to come follow him, become a disciple of his. Caravaggio captures what went on in the heart and in the face of Matthew. The painting depicts is the back of Jesus. There’s light flowing from the back of Jesus toward this dark corner where Matthew and a couple other tax collectors are seated at a table. One of them is so preoccupied with counting his coins on the table, he doesn’t even notice Jesus. Another one notices Jesus, but he doesn’t pay any attention to him. But Matthew looks up at Jesus as Jesus points to him and says, follow me. And there’s this expression on Matthew’s face, which is a mixture of emotions.

Part of his face says, “Who me? You want me to follow you?” But a part of his face also says, “Maybe I should. Maybe there’s a better life than this. Maybe there’s something he’s got to offer me.” The painting very artistically shows how the light of Jesus shines into the darkness of Matthew’s corner, and it’s calling him out into the light.

Jesus calls you and me during these 40 days of Lent to follow him, become a closer disciple of his, go with him. How do we respond? How do you respond? Do you hesitate? I’m already too busy. I’ve already got an OK relationship. Or is there something kind of exciting about getting to know Jesus better, spending more time with him? How do you respond this Lent to Jesus inviting you?

Watch the video, and then answer that invitation: Come follow me.

Responding to Jesus’s call to become his faithful disciple is a series of steps. We will look at some of possible next steps for you during the remaining weeks of Lent. Lent is a journey with Jesus for 40 days, like journeying with a rabbi.

In biblical times, a rabbi had a handful of disciples who spent time with him. They didn’t just show up for one hour a week for a catechetical lecture, they lived with him. They spent time with him. They traveled with him from town to town. They observed him all day long as he interacted with the poor, as he taught adults and children, as he showed compassion for individuals who were sick. And they started to take on that rabbi’s attitude toward life. Jesus was a rabbi.

Jesus had a handful of close disciples, and they traveled with him. They spent all day long with him. They didn’t just show up one hour a week to listen to him teach. They listened to him teach from different places, but they also observed him having compassion for the sick, going out of his way to reach out to people who lived on the margins. They observed him praying. They prayed with him, but they also observed him going off by himself and having these deep experiences of prayer with his Heavenly Father.

Do you desire to be a disciple of Jesus? Not just a fan, not just somebody who likes him, somebody who encourages him to go on. Do you have a desire to be an intentional disciple of Jesus, to go to a new depth in your relationship with Jesus?

I believe this Lenten video series will help you do so. God bless you on your Lenten journey.

All of the videos in this series can be found here: Lenten Video Meditations

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This post and video were originally published on March 24, 2020.

[Fr. Ron Will, a Precious Blood priest and spiritual director, is a graduate of Catholic Theological Union and Creighton University’s School of Christian Spirituality. He has a special interest in helping form intentional disciples of Jesus, encouraging others to go spiritually deep-sea diving to explore a deeper relationship with God, and walking with people as they dive into the ocean of God’s mystery actually experiencing God rather than simply dipping one’s toe into the water.]

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