Intensifying My Hunger for Holiness - The Wilderness as a Place of Spiritual Testing

Encounter: Revisit the Scriptures for this week in our 730+ readings and throughout the devotions in Lectio 365. Before going further, pause, find a place of quiet and solitude, take a deep breath thanking God for the Breath of Life. 

Pray Isaiah 58:11 placing “you” and “your” with “me.” 

Reflect: Ask yourself, What unexpected test have you faced in life that taught you something or caused you to grow in your faith? Journal about this experience. 

The desert can be a harsh teacher. After serving in a poverty-stricken community in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico—an area once used as a garbage dump—I returned to the mission house depleted and ill. The desert heat, well over 100 degrees, exposed my limits as my body pushed back with signs of heat exhaustion. Despite water and food, I had ignored what my body was telling me. I was busy doing what I believed was holy work, yet I was neglecting holy stewardship—failing to care for my body, the dwelling place of God’s Spirit.

The wilderness is honest.

It reveals what competes for our love and where our hearts are easily pulled away from God. That’s why the Desert Fathers and Mothers spoke so openly about temptation — not to shame the soul, but to heal it.

John Cassian named The Eight Thoughts — patterns of temptation that still shape our lives today: consumption, lust, greed, anger, despair, spiritual boredom, pride, and the hunger for recognition. Lent doesn’t eliminate these struggles; it teaches us how to bring them into God’s presence.

Throughout Scripture, oil is a sign of belonging, healing, calling, and God’s sustaining presence. This week, we’re invited to carry a small vial of oil as a tangible reminder that we belong to God even in moments of testing.

When temptation arises — or when we fall short — we pause, anoint ourselves, and pray: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

This prayer does not lead us away from holiness — it leads us toward it.

This week we are reminded through our Lenten Journey that the wilderness is not the absence of God. It is often where God’s mercy becomes most real.

With you in the Wilderness,

Pastor T

Pray now in the ancient words of The Liturgy of the Hours

Lord our God, Father of all, you guard us under the shadow of your wings and search into the depths of our hearts. Remove the blindness that cannot know you and relieve the fear that would hide us from your sight. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Watch this week's Lectio 365 Lenten series video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guS5g7Nh8hU

Spiritual Practice: Notice you are sitting in the loving gaze of God. Pray the ancient church breath prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Ask the Lord to search your heart and mind for those vices that are tempting you to turn away from God’s way. Ask for his strength to resist, forgiveness if needed and turn towards him knowing you are God’s Beloved. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

Gather Small Group Reflection Questions

1. Which of the Eight Thoughts do you notice most often in your own life?

2. How does understanding temptation as testing (not failure) change how you respond to it?

3. Where do you notice God’s mercy meeting you in moments of struggle?

4. How might the practice of anointing help you pause and return to God?

5. What would it look like to “fix your eyes on Jesus” this week?