Lent 2010

Pope Benedict's message. "Conversion to Christ, believing in the Gospel, ultimately means this: to exit the illusion of self-sufficiency in order to discover and accept one’s own need—the need of others and God, the need of His forgiveness and His friendship."

Gratitude for our Priests

Let us pray for them while giving thanks.

What is Lent?

From Fr. Blake:

Lent is not an orgy of Pelagian self improvement, that turns it into something vain and worldly. Lent is about probing our weakness and offering that to God. "Remember you are dust and to dust we shall return", are words that should dominate our Lent. God takes dust, breathes his life into us and we become human beings, without him we return to dust. Our existence depends on Him, by ourselves we are nothing, blown away like dust in the breeze.

Lent is the time when we are supposed to realise without God we are nothing, and God is everything. That for us Catholics it is the sacraments; Baptism, the Eucharist, Penance, those direct contacts with God himself that give us Life.

Realising we are weak and God is strong, that we cannot depend on ourselves but only on Him, if we are confronted with that, then Lent will have some value for us. If we learn to weep over our sins and to run to him in the sacraments not just for his forgiveness but for his strength then Lent will not be wasted.

A New Martyr for Russia

Terry Nelson tells of a heroic young soldier who died for his love of the cross.

On Exterior Penance

A meditation for body and soul.

Death

A meditation from Fr. Blake. (Via Sancta Sanctis) To quote:

For centuries Christians prepared themselves for the agony of death by meditating on those who willingly accepted death for Christ, their example gave the courage to pray to be delivered "from a sudden and unprovided death", what many now call a "good death". That is quite the opposite of what Christians understand by a "good and holy death", how dreadful for us to die without Confession, unconcious of the sacraments, without the prayer of Holy Church.

Lenten Penances

Here are some great suggestions from Fr. Trigilio.