A Lenten Challenge: Respond to Holy Discontent

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of presenting on Dilexi Te, I have loved you, Pope Leo’s exhortation on the poor, co-sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy and Catholic Charities of Charlotte. Seventy generous hearts gathered to reflect on a theme that continues to move me deeply: God’s love for the poor.

Afterward, a long-time friend who had worked at Holy Angels – one of the ministries of the Sisters of Mercy – offered me a tour of their campus. There, about 80 children and adults with profound intellectual and physical disabilities receive round-the-clock care. Words fail to capture what I felt standing among those beautiful souls whom some call “the least.” The tenderness of the caregivers, the dignity of the residents—it was love made visible.

All morning, we had spoken about Dilexi Te. At Holy Angels, I saw it.

Pope Leo writes in the opening paragraphs, “Love for the Lord is one with love for the poor.” We cannot claim to love Jesus and remain indifferent to those in need. Love, as Christ defines it, is self-gift: laying down one’s life for another.

During the presentation, we named the many forms of poverty in our world—material, social, moral, spiritual, cultural, the poverty of rights, the poverty of fragility. As real stories surfaced, so did the honest question: What can I do?

My answer was simple: Pay attention to your holy discontent.

Notice what troubles your heart. Notice what quietly stirs your compassion—or unsettles your comfort. Start where you are. Begin with something small, something within reach. Then listen for the gentle nudge of the Spirit inviting you a little further, from comfortable to uncomfortable.

That is how God works. He called Abraham to leave home—and later to surrender even Isaac. He stirred Moses’ outrage at injustice—and then sent him back to confront Pharaoh and lead a reluctant people to freedom. Holy discontent is often the beginning of vocation.

As Augustine of Hippo wrote, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

This Lent, perhaps that restlessness is not something to silence—but something to follow.