He saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness but according to his own mercy, by washing and regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Titus 3: 5
And Peter said to them “ Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
I wrote this edition of my column earlier in the month of March, not having an inkling of the spread of the deadly COVID 19 pandemic to my continent, Africa. More than ever, I sense that we have to stop and evaluate ourselves with regards to our life in Christ.
We all have to do a turn around and seek more of interior life than seek worldliness. Therefore my write- up cannot be better timely. So please read attentively.
THANK GOD FOR THIS LENT
Lent as we all know is a time we are given the opportunity to refrain from our sinful ways and return to God. We choose lifestyles which are not in line with Gods commandment, the most important of which is to “Love your God above all things.” We have failed, we worship and hunger for materialism, above our God, above Heaven.
We are encouraged to do three things that will help us to achieve the purpose of Lent. These are;
1. Constant Prayer
2. Sacrificial Fasting
3. Alms Giving to the needy
In the last edition of this column, I tried to bring our attention to how we are tilting to Self- Conceitedness and Avarice, the mindset of “ The winner takes all” Thank God for the season of Lent which gives us the chance to do some thinking, recognise our failings, do confession, genuinely atone for our sins and where possible do some restitution.
Now we may be thinking of how difficult it is to do the above. The Church continues to support us in doing this, our blessed Pope Francis keeps encouraging us to seek forgiveness and to forgive others as well as ourselves. I say, true will for conversion, and atonement, and the Love and Fear of The Almighty should be our starting point. Yes, you might not be able to make restitution but you can seek God’s forgiveness for, and pray for those you think you have offended that the Holy Spirit may grant them a forgiving heart.
I always say you don’t have to do your confession with your priest if you are not comfortable with that. The Church tries to organise Retreats during this season and most times priests are invited from different parishes to help with confessions, so you can feel free to have your confession. You must take the advantage.
My friend, I am sure you have once experienced the relief one feels after confession. If you haven’t , I encourage you to go for this experience. Go confess your sins and see the joy that will well up in you – it is a great thing to be reunited in spirit with your Heavenly Father.
It is difficult to discern sins these days. The world and the evil one keep promoting evil by telling us, “ It’s no big deal, “ “ Everyone does it, “ “ It isn’t your fault ” etc, but we know the truth. God’s Commandments have not change. His word remains the same yesterday, today and forever. The Truth resides in you and it will save you. So pray and meditate, and He will lead you to a good confession.
Let us all pray ceaselessly this season, fast for strength to keep our faith and help each other the way we can so that even after Lent we will be there for each other. Together we stand in faith, together we win the battle against satan and his works, together we bring the Kingdom of God on earth.
Be a Winner in Christ. Pray, fast and give alms and keep the culture of Lent year round.
We pray we all see the Easter that we may continue to sing aloud praises to our risen Lord, our Saviour. Happy Easter in advance.
I have been thinking a great deal about my experience at Reconciliation this past Saturday. I felt an intense and unexplainable urge to go and confess my sins when I woke up that morning. I try to go every six weeks or so, but this was no routine visit to the priest for me. I needed to unburden myself of the numerous venial sins I had committed since I last participated in this Sacrament.
Purest Gold: God's Refining Fire in our Lives »
After salvation, many young Christians wonder if there's anything more to their newfound faith than just the security blanket of "being a Christian." Time and time again, God shows himself as a "refiner," and our lives are as gold. God started leading me in this study to understand what He was doing in my life, as well as in the lives of others.
Picking up my pen to write this column, I couldn’t imagine how time flies. Since the last publication of this column I have gone through a lot, especially the loss of my dear mother to whom I dedicate this article. Not only her, but seems I lost a whole generation of my close family.
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Most of us youth in today's fast moving world are easily thrown off by difficulties and worries.
The theme of conversion is a thread that runs all through Lent, but conversion takes on different aspects throughout the phases of Lent. The first two and a half weeks focused on the interior turning of hearts; the liturgy urges the faithful to reflect and examine consciences thoroughly.
Saint Josephine Bakhita »
Feast Day: February 8
Patron Saint Of: Sudan
Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan. She was a member of the Daju people and her uncle was a tribal chief. Due to her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering.
Catholics Must Fast More Intensely This Lent»
The Norbertine Canons of St. Michael's Abbey have created this digital Lenten retreat so that you can journey through this holy season alongside them. If you want to have one of your best Lenten seasons yet, join us in our Lenten Program "The Great Fast" - https://theabbotscircle.com/the-great-fast-join
When Your Faith Is Put to the Test - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon»
Friends, we come now to the Second Sunday of Lent, and we’re on both dangerous and very holy ground with the first reading from the twenty-second chapter of Genesis. The ancient Israelites referred to it as the “Akedah,” which means the “binding”: Abraham binds and is ready to sacrifice Isaac at God’s command.
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