As we begin now with Jesus in the desert: Why the Desert? On my second retreat in the desert around Albuquerque recently, this became clear. To go to the desert is to leave a lot of things behind—people, personal routines, entertainment, cell phone and internet. All the people that give me affirmation (the good times, at least) and the things I rely on or piddle away time with, were gone. All that was left—as for Jesus—was the Father. And with the community of prayer there, I

Yes We're Here —at least we might as well be. Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the traditional start of Lent. The rest of the week is actually preparation for the start of the Lenten Sundays, the journey of Jesus to the Cross and Resurrection. So, many people come to Ash Wednesday to receive ashes, and some actually feel that they’ve “done Lent.” The ashes are a sign of willingness to die, to be reduced to ashes, on the rest of the 40 day Lenten journey. In the last week I sent a