February 21, 2021
by Mary Sellars Malloy
Question of the Week, 1st Sunday of Lent, Year B
What an interesting time to consider this question! My first thought is, “What activities?” Hasn’t the pandemic already done a number on our calendars? Except for daily tasks and the occasional run to the grocery store, my own calendar is pretty blank. There’s just not much left to forgo!
Be that as it may, as we enter into the season of Lent--a forty-day retreat time of intense prayer, fasting, and almsgiving--I am captured by the reminder in today’s Gospel (Mark 1:12-15) that during his own forty-day time in the desert, angels came and ministered to Jesus.
This image of angels ministering to Jesus captures my attention because every morning I pray specifically that angels will surround and protect a young woman I know who struggles with severe depression. This is not my usual way of praying for someone, but this is how I feel called to pray for her. In light of today’s Gospel, and through this season of Lent, I want to draw upon this image of angels ministering to others as I offer my morning prayer.
At the same time, I know my own need to be ministered to by the angels, who protect me and who speak God’s message to me. In the spirit of today’s Gospel, I want to carve out just a few minutes each day to invite the angels to minister to those places in my mind, heart, and spirit that need to be healed, renewed, and strengthened too.
Lent is always a season to pray for and do acts of charity that benefit others. But perhaps this Lent is also a time to place ourselves into the loving, protective embrace of God and of God’s angels, and to return to a prayer from our childhood: Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
Mary Sellars Malloy has over forty years’ experience as a Catholic educator and lay minister. She is a frequent workshop presenter on prayer, liturgy, spirituality, the Sacraments, and the RCIA. Also, Mary leads retreats and parish missions throughout the country. Her goal is to encourage Catholics of all ages to appreciate and to live their Catholic faith.