I am happy to be able to tell you that I believe that the forty days of Lent provides each of us with an opportunity for daily conversion. The secular world overwhelms us in its presentations of artificial, superficial lifestyles completely out of context, without a hint of reality or substance. The secular world confronts us with depictions of moral morbidity, moral mendacity, moral mediocrity.
Lent provides us with a path away from all this junk; it is not necessary to employ any violent measures; our free will can guide us toward our beloved. Our lives should be filled only with activities that are acceptable to God, encouraging love and praise for God, grace-filled moments of prayer, reflection, silence. Our actions must show that we believe in the Gospel and are willing and ready to repent.
If we rely upon prayer and patience, the ultimate restoration of hope and love, will blossom within each of us and help us discipline ourselves for being obedient humble servants.
The call to conversion requires each Christian to approach it with extraordinary discipline, extraordinary patience, and extraordinary seriousness. We must carefully, prayerful examine our lives and then denounce the artificial, the superficial. As Christians we must place God in the center of our lives and allow everything to flow from him. That is most satisfactory for him; and our spiritual life will sooth and protect us.
Penance gives us a means of changing the course of our lives. The change should be a true personal adjustment; the change can be a complete personal reversal. The secular world can make us invalids of all types of sins and unwarranted fears. When too much is artificial and superficial, our spiritual lives can be overpowered by all types evil, unwilling prisoners of war held captive by moral morbidity, moral mendacity, moral mediocrity. The secular world constantly rewrites its notions and ideas of what is moral, what is not moral.
Christians know what is moral; the Bible has many lessons on moral living. The Ten Commandments also provide a wonderful guide. Lent encourages each Christian to reconnect with the Word, to read and reflect upon the Holy Scriptures.
Lent is a time of repentance.
Each Christian should always aim to become the most humble, obedient, loving devout follower of Jesus Christ. We must place all of our trust in Jesus Christ. We must pray privately and in community, offer some penance for forty days. We must listen for God’s call.
Our repentance will help us hear God’s call, help us find Jesus Christ in the daily experience of our lives. He is there to guide us, to illuminate the path of redemption and salvation. Jesus will provide strength when we ask for it.
Our repentance will help us change, help us discover and avoid sin. Repentance offers us so much when we are willing to hope, we are positioned to be prepared and ready to hope: though we must always remember that prayer, reflection, silence help our minds find clarity and solace. Alms giving, prayer, and fasting help our spirits find love and peace.
Lent reminds us of the necessity of basing our lives on good moral decisions. As we accept and grow with and into our conversion the entirety of our lives will become a beautiful moment of choice, a beautiful moment of free will. Our conversion presents us will the living, loving, real person of Jesus Christ. His humanity inspires our humanity,
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