Week Two: The Wilderness
A Word for the Way: Guiding Scripture for the Week
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness..."
—Matthew 4:1
The wilderness is not exile.
It is not punishment.
It is the place where illusions fall away,
where silence stretches wide,
where we meet ourselves as we truly are.
This is the landscape of stripping down,
of unlearning the need for control,
of standing in the rawness of hunger—
not just for bread, but for certainty,
for reassurance, for something solid beneath our feet.
The wilderness does not rush to give answers.
It does not yield to our need for clarity.
It is a slow teacher, a quiet sculptor,
carving trust where grasping used to be.
Jesus did not walk into the wilderness alone.
The same Spirit that called Him Beloved
led Him here.
And so, we hold onto this:
The wilderness is not the absence of God.
It is where God is already waiting.
A Practice to Carry: The Breath of Trust
The wilderness unsettles.
It shifts the ground beneath us.
It stretches time,
holds up a mirror,
reveals the hunger we have buried.
Trust is not learned in certainty.
It is shaped in the spaces we cannot control.
This week, let breath be your anchor:
Inhale: "Even here…"
Exhale: "I am held."
Let this be enough.
Not to solve the wilderness,
but to stand inside of it
and know you are not alone.
In this week’s reflection, we pause to let the journey settle, to notice what the wilderness is stirring in us.
The wilderness can be disorienting—marked by uncertainty, longing, and peeling away what once felt certain.
But it is also an invitation.
An invitation to sit honestly with what is, to feel deeply, and to notice how we are met—even in the most unexpected places. Through personal stories and quiet reflections, we step into this sacred space together, trusting that even here, we are not alone.
This week, allow yourself to slow down.
Let silence find you.
Take a breath, take a walk, take a moment to notice what is stirring in your body and spirit. If you feel drawn, revisit the meditations available in the class, or explore the practice of silence .
Wherever you are in this journey, you are welcome. You are held. You are not alone.
Week Two: The Wilderness
Monday: Entering the Wilderness
The wilderness is an invitation—not to control, but to trust. At the threshold of the unknown, we release our grip on certainty and step forward, not alone, but led. This is the beginning—trust the path, take the step, and let yourself be formed.
Tuesday: Facing Hunger
Hunger is more than physical—it reveals our deeper longings for certainty, control, and assurance. Jesus did not rush to fill His hunger but allowed it to shape His dependence on the Father. In the wilderness, we are invited to do the same—to sit with our hunger, trust in what is unseen, and wait for the nourishment that truly sustains.
Wednesday: The Slow Work of Trust
Trust is not found in certainty but in the slow work of waiting, where faith is shaped in what is unseen. Jesus did not demand quick answers in the wilderness but trusted the presence of the Father in the silence. We, too, are invited to hold what is unfinished—not as something to fix, but as a space where trust is being formed.
Thursday: Silence as a Teacher
Silence is not emptiness; it is an invitation—a space where what is hidden can rise and what is true can be heard. Jesus withdrew to quiet places, not to escape, but to listen, to let stillness make room for clarity. Today, we resist the urge to fill the quiet and instead allow silence to hold us, trusting that even in stillness, we are not alone.
Friday: Naming What is Heavy
The wilderness reveals what we carry—the grief, exhaustion, and unspoken weight we’ve borne without question. Jesus did not bypass struggle; He named it, stood in it, and did not carry it alone. Today, we do the same—not to fix everything, but to acknowledge what is heavy and trust that grace is already holding what we cannot.
Saturday: Letting the Wilderness Speak
The wilderness is not silent—it speaks in ways beyond words, revealing what we are often too busy to notice. Jesus withdrew to quiet places, not to explain everything, but to listen, to receive what only stillness could reveal. Today, we do the same—allowing awareness to rise, releasing the need to define it, and trusting that some truths unfold only when we make space to hear them.
Sunday: A Table in the Desert
The Second Sunday of Lent, traditionally known as Reminiscere Sunday, takes its name from the opening words of the Introit in Latin:
Reminiscere miserationum tuarum, Domine
"Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your loving-kindness, for they have been from of old." — Psalm 25:6
This Sunday invites us to trust in God's mercy, even in the wilderness. Jesus was not abandoned in His fasting—angels ministered to Him, and provision came in unexpected ways. Likewise, we are called to recognize the quiet nourishment already set before us, trusting that even in barren places, there is enough. This is a day of awareness, surrender, and seeing how God's mercy sustains us, even when we do not yet perceive it.