Repent and believe in the gospel! This is the message that is found on Jesus’ lips after forty days in the desert. As the forty days of Lent come before us, we are asked to create a desert experience in our lives so that we can learn anew the ways of God. Our daily cares and concerns can distract us from truth and cause us to become absorbed with the world and secular priorities. Lent is an opportunity to free ourselves from illusion and focus us on what really matters. In doing so, we open up new possibilities for our relationship with God, others, our world, and ourselves.