LENT WK 2: THE VOICE OF LOVE

“We have all been chosen for love. The anointing was given at creation’s dawn. The oil always drips. Waiting for you, and for me, to stand under its flow.”

The Anointing| God Speaks Through Wombs, Drew Jackson 

We are created out of love and for love.

Before sin.

Before striving.

Before ministry.

There is love.

St. Ignatius calls this the Principle and Foundation—that our lives begin in God’s loving desire for us. Lent, then, is not first about sacrifice, but about returning to that voice beneath all other voices.

Take a deep breath.
Imagine God gazing at you with tenderness.
Let yourself be seen—not as a leader, parent, or provider—but as beloved.

In The Inner Voice of Love, written during his own season of emotional struggle, Nouwen reminds us:

“You have to keep trusting that the inner voice of love is stronger than the many other voices that fill your heart. That voice is the voice of God, who says: ‘I love you, I am pleased with you, I am proud of you.’”

Let these words settle into your spirit.
The inner voice of love is not loud. It is steady.
It does not shame. It reassures.
It does not coerce. It invites.

REFLECTION

What does the inner voice of God’s love sound like to you?

Notice whether that voice sounds like freedom—or like pressure.

How does that voice affect your following of Jesus?

When we follow Jesus from love, obedience becomes a response, not an obligation. Service becomes participation, not proving.

How does God’s love invite you into a greater freedom?

The voice of love frees us from the tyranny of comparison.
It frees us from the anxiety of earning.
It frees us to say “yes” with joy.

SCRIPTURE- JOHN 3:16-17 (MSG)| replace “the world” with your name

16-17 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

Prayer

God of love
In this season, quiet the competing voices- inside and out

Help me recognize Your voice—the voice that calls me beloved.
Help me to receive the truth of your love as my daily bread

Let that love reshape how I follow Jesus.
Free me from fear.
Free me from striving.
Free me for You.
Amen.