Ian said to Toula in My Big Fat Greek Wedding: “I just want to spend some time with you.” That line has remained with me since I first saw the movie, and has been an invitation to prayer. At times I can hear Jesus say those words to me. Other times I say those words to him.

I was privileged to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in October 2022, and one of the many highlights for me was a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. The included picture is one of my favorites from the trip. While I was on that boat I FELT those movie lines. I gazed at the sea and landscape and sat in awe that I was looking at the same things Jesus saw in his life. That invitation to be close to him, to realize we were and always are together, is especially powerful this Lent.

Lent offers us the opportunity to transform our hearts. Collectively, all disciples are doing this in their own unique way during these weeks. As a child, giving up gum or chocolate was my major “sacrifice.” Fortunately, my relationship with myself and God has matured! At some point I realized that had absolutely no impact on my relationship with God. I knew I was looking, and continue to look, for ways to deepen my life of prayer and my living out my love relationship with God. Being on the Sea of Galilee, praying where Jesus prayed, has changed my prayer.

I may never get to the Holy Land again. However, that experience, like every experience, serves as a reminder to look for opportunities to spend time with Jesus. Lent is a specific liturgical season that invites us to prepare our hearts to celebrate the joy of the resurrection. Yet EVERY DAY offers us the same opportunity. As we near the end of our Lenten journey, may we look for ways to continue to deepen our relationship with Jesus. May we be aware of those special moments and experiences that ground us. It may not be a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee that helps us. It might be a line from a movie that calls to us.

May we be open to the many, and surprising ways, Jesus is reaching out to us this Lent.

Laura M. Arvin, OP, SFC '88
Executive Director, Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer