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When we sin
Lent is about prayer, fasting and almsgiving. But an important part of entering more deeply into these three aspects of Lent is to acknowledge our sin. Yesterday, we heard about the Jesus prayer, and how the spiritual life was seen quite differently by the pharisee and the tax collector. One saw all of the wonderful things he was doing as great credits to himself. The other knew he needed mercy.
When we sin, we enter into a blindness that prevents us from seeing clearly who we are and who God is. We are overcome by darkness so that we cannot see the light of the world, Jesus Christ. This is what sin does. And every since the first sin, human wills have become corrupted by concupiscence, and human seeing has become clouded. We have lost the original state God gave us, that of original holiness and original justice.
Darkness is often associated with bad things. We talk about dark times and dark ages. We see that some people have dark personalities. Some children are afraid of the dark. When the school shooters at Columbine High School were identified, they were known for wearing dark clothing.
Lent is a time where we seek to understand the starkness of our choice. We can choose the Light of Christ or the Darkness of Sin. And we need God’s grace to make a good and right choice. We have become so clouded by sin, that we cannot see things for what they are or the way they appear.
Fortunately from our baptism we received the light of Christ. We were given the new life that God longs for us to have, the salvation Jesus died to give us. Darkness often leads to slumber. Baptism awakens us to the new life of Christ’s light.
We sing with joy, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
On the friar, you can listen to our homilies (based on the readings of the day) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or to pray for others. You can subscribe to our website to be informed whenever we publish an update.
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