repent-lent
"We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from Your commandments and Your laws. We have not obeyed Your servants the prophets." —Daniel 9:5-6
Daniel repented on behalf of the whole people. He admitted that thousands of people had repeatedly sinned thousands of times, and that this had been going on for hundreds, even thousands of years. Sin is contagious, addictive, and deadly (Rm 6:23). Sin naturally tends to become a whole way of life (Col 3:7). Unless we repent, we will become entrenched in sin, and it will run our lives, rob us of our freedom and dignity, use us, and abuse us.
Without repentance, we will not be able to control sin; it will control us. If Jesus hadn't shed His blood to wash away our sins, sin would have wiped out humanity. It will still wipe us out unless we apply Jesus' blood to our lives by repenting of our sins.
This Lent, repent. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you examine your conscience. Go to Confession. Fast and pray in preparation for a repentance deeper than you've ever experienced. Go to Confession again later in Lent. Repent.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, take me to the cross. May I see clearly the connection between my sins and Jesus' sufferings and death on Calvary.
Promise: "Pardon, and you shall be pardoned. Give, and it shall be given to you." —Lk 6:37-38
Praise: St. Frances of Rome balanced an active spiritual life with her family responsibilities while her husband lived. After his death, she entered the religious order she had founded years earlier, and eventually was made its superior.
Reference: (As the "Year of St. Paul" nears its end, we invite you to join us to study St. Paul's letter to the Romans. Presentation Ministries presents a four-day study of this letter Apr. 20-23, in the middle of a series of nine days of retreats. Call 937-587-5464 or 513-373-2397 for information and to register).
Rescript: †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 11, 2008
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