Mar
06
2019
By Anonymous (not verified)
The Marian Fathers present this Lenten devotional series to help you prepare to receive graces on Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday.
Readings: Joel 2:12-18; Ps 51:3-4, 5-6AB, 12-13, 14 and 17; 2 Cor 5:20-6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
Diary: 1, 388
Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. - Joel 2:13
Ever walk by a mirror on Ash Wednesday? Surprise! You forgot all about the big cross of ashes on your forehead.
As easy as it is to forget the ashes we received, we can forget our good intentions for the Lenten season. Human beings are creatures of habit. Sometimes, even the good things we do become habitual - as we see in today's Old Testament reading.
It had become mere routine for the Israelites to rend (tear) their garments and use ashes as an outward sign of inner repentance. That's why the prophet Joel tells them that God wants them to "rend their hearts." Repentance is more than an outward sign. It needs to be real. Heartfelt.
Make a commitment to use these daily meditations and develop a habit of heartfelt prayer. Every day, these meditations will guide you to repent - that is, to "turn away" - from sin and turn to God. You'll be encouraged to make more deliberate efforts toward holiness, long after the ashes on your forehead have disappeared.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, may my outward actions reflect my interior desire to please You. Guide me through this penitential season to a glorious Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday. Amen.
See up-to-date daily meditations from the series "From Ashes to Mercy".
Readings: Joel 2:12-18; Ps 51:3-4, 5-6AB, 12-13, 14 and 17; 2 Cor 5:20-6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
Diary: 1, 388
Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. - Joel 2:13
Ever walk by a mirror on Ash Wednesday? Surprise! You forgot all about the big cross of ashes on your forehead.
As easy as it is to forget the ashes we received, we can forget our good intentions for the Lenten season. Human beings are creatures of habit. Sometimes, even the good things we do become habitual - as we see in today's Old Testament reading.
It had become mere routine for the Israelites to rend (tear) their garments and use ashes as an outward sign of inner repentance. That's why the prophet Joel tells them that God wants them to "rend their hearts." Repentance is more than an outward sign. It needs to be real. Heartfelt.
Make a commitment to use these daily meditations and develop a habit of heartfelt prayer. Every day, these meditations will guide you to repent - that is, to "turn away" - from sin and turn to God. You'll be encouraged to make more deliberate efforts toward holiness, long after the ashes on your forehead have disappeared.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, may my outward actions reflect my interior desire to please You. Guide me through this penitential season to a glorious Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday. Amen.
See up-to-date daily meditations from the series "From Ashes to Mercy".
ddburg
