Saint Ignatius reminds us that God is in our deepest desires. Listening to the desires of our hearts means becoming quiet within, taking a step back, allowing things to surface, and listening to the ‘inner voice'. It is like a pool where the water, when it is agitated and churned up, makes it impossible to see into it. Whereas when the water becomes calm and unruffled, it is possible to see into the depths. Hence the need for silence, ‘retreat' and time away.

A Lenten retreat is different in that it is intimately connected with Easter and Holy Week, as it runs from Ash Wednesday through the 40 days to Easter Sunday. The word ‘Lent' comes from the Middle English lenten, meaning ‘spring'. The word ‘Easter', derived from Pesach the Hebrew name for Passover, is a Jewish holiday to which the Christian Easter is closely linked. Accordingly, the real aim of Lent is to prepare people for Easter, that is, the Paschal mystery: the celebration of the death and Resurrection of Christ. The better this preparation is the more effective the Easter celebration will be. Easter and Lent hang upon understanding the depths of God's love for us in Christ's sacrifice on the cross ("no greater love...") and our response of humble acceptance (we don't really deserve it), self-examination and new life inspired by God's free gift.

Older people often recall Lent as having been a time of prolonged fasting and abstinence. These ancient and valuable practices have sometimes been reduced to giving up sweets or sugar, a trivial matter for many, even if an addiction for some. It is important to remember the wisdom of St. Ignatius here: we should seek whatever brings us closer to God, life and love. This demands a certain flexibility and openness: there are times when we need to abstain from doing negative things that are self-destructive or harmful to others (abstinence and penance); while at other times it will be better for us to do positive things that involve being more generous, reaching out to others or healing rifts (action and commitment). It all depends what is going on in your life and what God is asking of you specifically. That's why it's so important to think of prayer as ‘listening', trying to hear what message God has for you personally.

It is no accident that the 40 days of Lent reflect the wanderings of the Israelites in the desert, and Jesus' time in the wilderness. It is a time of ‘purification', or more accurately, reconciliation, as we seek a healing of the relationship between God and ourselves, and bring ourselves back into the ‘God zone' as the main focus and meaning of life.

In summary, the Lenten preparation for Easter could be summed up in these points:

• Lent is about turning back to God; God is always turned towards us and looking for contact and communication ("Turn to me and be saved", Isaiah 45:22).
  The Israelites in the desert were forgetful and had to be reminded by Moses about all the good things God had done for them (Deut 26:1-11). We need to take time to remember how lucky we are, to consider what God has done for us and to appreciate the blessings that are ours.
• God's promise is one of Good News - ‘Gospel' - of ‘good things' for us, a better life and more fulfilment; i.e. being led out of ‘slavery' (sin as ‘slavery' to lesser goods) and into the fullness of life in God.
• Reconciliation, or healing our life, is possible only through realising that we are forgiven, even though we don't deserve it. We can recall the story of the Prodigal Son, the classic Lenten text, in the light of God's great love for us through Christ, his amazing love & self-gift. (The Gospel of the Prodigal Son - Luke 15:1-32 - is read on 18 March this year).
• Inevitably Lent involves commitment to change, through this free gift of God's love; a conversion of heart and priorities that will mean decisions and doing things differently.
• Easter Sunday will then take on its fuller meaning: that we have died with Christ on Good Friday to our ‘old selves' and destructive ways, and have been ‘re-born' on Easter Sunday with Christ to a new life in him. Easter always has strong echoes of Baptism for us as we touch the water, hear the words and celebrate with our communities.
  

You need to plan the day's retreat for Lent, combining the freedom of your own style with certain practical essentials. This preparation will allow for a meeting with God, or, rather, better enable you to open yourself to God who is present to you all the time.
The most important thing is your own desire: an openness and a willingness to be available to God's stirrings in your interior and giving the time and energy to it. Also, just simply slowing down and ‘retreating' from the world is difficult, sometimes boring and seemingly pointless; yet the rewards if you stick with it are enormous! The goal is to live life more fully, engage with life totally and find that happiness that comes from following God's will.
We may need to remind ourselves in Lent that that it is important to not glorify suffering. Suffering is an unavoidable part of life so we don't ask for any more than is strictly necessary, but pray that we may live out God's plan for us.

Freedom
You may need to experiment with this to find the way of praying that suits you best. A retreat day can involve time spent hiking in the mountains, sitting alone in your room, kneeling in a church or chapel, being alone in a corner in a quiet coffee shop, looking with wonder at the sea or the sky. Really, whatever helps you to pray, reflect and become quiet within is what will be best for you to do.

Space
Getting an appropriate place is important, some measure of separating yourself from your work, family, relationships, and daily demands is important. Moses found holy ground on a deserted mountainside. It may not be so easy for you. Find a place where you will be present to God, and God to you, and where others will not distract you.

Solitude
Make a conscious decision not to be available or distracted: turn off your mobile phone, radio and TV, in order to create an atmosphere of solitude, as much as you can. Leave aside your public role, or whatever ‘mask' you wear in your social life. Today you face the Lord naked and vulnerable; God sees your heart and loves you as you are. "God is closer to us than we are to ourselves" - our job is to create that inner stillness and quiet, in order to be able to listen. Deliberately set up a new, slow rhythm. The reason for solitude is to give time to the relationship with God; like any relationship it needs time and work. Often we are so busy with the details of our everyday lives that we miss out on the more important things. On a day's retreat there is time to ask life's important questions like, ‘Where am I going?', ‘Is this really what I want?', ‘Am I living my life to the full?', ‘What are the areas in my life that are not good, that are draining and destructive?', ‘What changes could I make?' Ignatius offers a helpful insight here: ask yourself what advice you would give to someone else?

This day is not for doing but for being: make no effort to achieve, to get things done, gather or possess. Waste time creatively. You are not alone. Each sensation is God's caress. Each breath is saying ‘Yes' to God.
All of this is combined in the three Scripture passages suggested for our prayer on this day. Of course, if there are other Scripture texts which you would find more meaningful for Lent (and there are endless possibilities), please feel perfectly free to use them. The important thing is, in the words of Saint Ignatius Loyola, "to find fruit", to tune into sources of light and love for oneself at this particular time. The rule of thumb is: ‘whatever works' to bring more light and life, that is where God is.

Planning
Make yourself a timetable for the day that could cover the three scripture passages suggested below. Here is a suggested timetable, to be adapted to suit your circumstances: