Dear friends in Christ,
How is your Lent going? No matter how well (or not) our Lenten prayer,
fasting, and almsgiving has gone, remember that the center of Lent is not proving
how much willpower we have, but how much we are in need of the salvific love of
Christ, who died for us so that have a share in the divine life of the Blessed Trinity.
For this reason, I urge you: do not let Lent go by without celebrating the Sacrament
of Penance, where we encounter that merciful love in a visceral way. Don’t let pride
stand in the way of this greatest preparation for Easter.
Our patron Saint Francis de Sales has some advice for us on this:
“Why are we troubled to find that we have committed a sin or even an imperfection?
Because we thought ourselves to be something good, firm, and solid. And therefore,
when we have seen the proof to the contrary, and have fallen on our faces in the dirt,
we are troubled, offended, and anxious. If we understood ourselves, we would be
astonished that we are ever able to remain standing. This is the other source of
our anxiety: we want only consolations, and we are surprised to encounter our own
misery, nothingness, and folly.
There are three things we must do to be at peace: [1] have a pure intention to desire
the honor and glory of God in all things; [2] do the little that we can unto that end,
following the advice of our spiritual father; [3] and leave all the rest to God’s care.”
May God be Blessed!
–Father Eric Banecker