Lent is an invitation to plunge deeper into your relationship with Jesus! It is a time set aside for those of us seeking to live a more spiritual life to pause and take an honest look at the choices we are making. In the intimate places of our hearts we come to see more clearly where we are not as loving as Jesus challenges us to be. Lent is an excellent time to work on increasing the love of God and neighbor in our lives.

One of ways we live out our love for God and neighbor is through service. Service is love in action. In serving another we go out of ourselves and focus our attention and kindness on another. We link our intention to love with real practical deeds. The early Christians, likewise, were admired for their deeds of love. It was often commented, “See how those Christians love one another.” It was apparent because their actions made their love visible.

As followers of Jesus desiring to live out our relationship with Christ, we are called to make our love visible through service. Pope Benedict XV in his first encyclical, God is Love mentions this call to love through service by bringing to our attention the Corporal Works of Mercy. These seven actions are clear and visible signs of our love for our neighbor.
• Feed the hungry
• Give drink to the thirsty
• Clothe the naked
• Shelter the homeless
• Visit the sick
• Visit the prisoner
• Bury the Dead
Jesus speaks about the first six of these in his parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew’s gospel. Jesus says that the proof of our love for him is evident when we act in loving ways towards those who are in need.

Our invitation this Lent is to invest ourselves in loving service. The 40 days of Service are an excellent opportunity to put love into action. The various programs and projects highlighted for service during these 40 days are places where the practice of Corporal Works of Mercy is greatly needed. They are concrete places where real people are in need of your loving gifts.

As you offer yourselves in loving service at the various sites, you are invited to reflect on the experience. In this reflection you will become more aware of Jesus’ love at work in your life as well. Your relationship with Jesus will become richer and more meaningful. So, invest yourself in this season of service and open yourself up to the love of God at work in you and through you. In this way, your Easter will be a dynamic celebration of God’s vibrant love transforming the world person by person.