The following is an excerpt from the Marian Press book 52 Weeks with St. Faustina by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle:
“An ardent love of God sees all around itself constant opportunities to share itself through deed, word, and prayer.” — Diary, 1313
The following is an excerpt from the Marian Press book 52 Weeks with St. Faustina by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle:
“[The] saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult circumstances in the Church’s history." — St. John Paul II
By Chris Sparks
It’s easy for those of us who are actively practicing Catholics to forget how hard it is to come back to Confession if you’ve been away for a while.
After all, how often are you expected to be completely honest with someone, to lay bare all your deepest, darkest secrets, to frankly confess the worst actions of your life?
Lent, which begins today - Ash Wednesday - is not supposed to be easy.
Right away, we confront an uncomfortable truth: "Remember, you are dust, and to dust you will return."
That's what the priest tells us as he smears the burned residue of palm fronds upon our foreheads. Not exactly the feel-good sentiments that inspire merriment. (Hallmark doesn't make Ash Wednesday greeting cards.)
But, of course, Lent's arduous, 40-day journey leads to the greatest of all possible rewards: our salvation.
