Lent is a time of preparation, a time of stripping away the clutter, chaos and concerns of our daily lives and of focusing on the essentials. During Lent, we “imitate Christ,” who—after his baptism by John in the Jordan River—entered the wilderness for forty days. For Jesus, his wilderness experience was the first step in a process of defining “self,” a period of defining who he is, where he belongs and what he is meant to do. After his wilderness experience, Jesus spends three years teaching, preaching and healing great crowds of people throughout Galilee, but his end goal—his purpose; his destiny—is Jerusalem and the cross.

As we enter Holy Week on this Palm Sunday, we might imagine ourselves standing at the foot of the cross with Jesus’ mother, Mary; Mary’s sister (or sister-in-law), Salome; Mary Magdalene; and Jesus’ cousin, the beloved disciple, John.