Why is it that the day after you give up chocolate, coffee, or soda for Lent, your local grocery store builds a huge display of it at the entrance?
If that doesn’t bother you and you’re still going strong this Lent, props to you!
But if your Lenten commitments have fallen by the wayside, there are a few more weeks before Easter to pick them back up again. Remember that Jesus fell a few times on his way to Calvary; we fall and fail too, but it’s time to get back up and begin anew!
Here are three things to remember as we continue on our Lenten journeys:
God is merciful! Even if you’ve dropped the ball this Lent, remember that God knows you; he loves you; and he forgives you if you ask him to. Be merciful with yourself.
Sacrifice is a means, not an end. It deepens our prayer, gratitude, and love, but we don’t sacrifice for sacrifice’s sake. These sacrifices and sufferings – small or large – are meaningful, though, because Jesus gave suffering a purpose!
There’s still time! In the words of Ven. Bruno Lanteri: “Nunc coepi.” “Now I begin.” Start today.
Through our Lenten observances, may God deepen our faith, intensify our hope, and concretize our love for him and one another.
“If I should fall even a thousand times a day, a thousand times, with peaceful repentance, I will say immediately, Nunc Coepi [Now I begin].” – Venerable Bruno Lanteri