Living
Return To The Lord Now
Joel 2:12-18
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Matthew 6:1-6,16-18
As we start the holy season of Lent, the time during which we prepare to celebrate the sacred mysteries of Easter more worthily, the first theme that the Church brings to us in the liturgical readings is repentance and the reality of sin and temptation. The Church wants us to return to the Lord with fasting, Almighty ving and prayer. It was for the reality of sin that Our Lord atoned when He shed His Precious Blood on the cross, on Calvary. Therefore, return to the Lord now-Joel 2:12-13.
Lent is a period of forty days. It takes its duration right after the baptism of he Lord by John the Baptist; He fasted for forty days and forty nights. Our Lord is about to start His public ministry, healing the sick, raising the dead, and preaching the good news of the new covenant between God and mankind. And before He starts this work, He prepares by praying and fasting for forty days. It is a basic human necessity to prepare for a decisive event, decision, or major change in our lives. Now is the favorable time. This is the day of salvation. -2 Cor. 6:2.
Besides that, we also know that some of the great prophets of the Old Testament did likewise before their encounters with God. Moses acted in the same way before proclaiming, in God’s name, the Old Law on Mount Sinai; Elijah went into the desert for forty days also, to fulfil the law. And so we too have our forty days of preparation. We follow in Christ’s footsteps in our yearly Lenten fast; we do so to prepare for Easter, to prepare to proclaim the gospel of the salvation of the risen Christ.
Our Lord has shown us the way, and He promises his grace to assist us and reward us at the end. -Matthew 6:18. Grace is God’s initiative. We are loved by God and granted power active in our lives when we allow divine grace to work within us. Have you slid back or fallen behind on your resolution in the past few months this year? Lent is a chance to return to the Lord. When we go to confession – which I strongly urge you all to do often, and most especially as part of your preparation for Easter – we make an act of contrition for our sins. And this often concludes with these or similar words, addressed to our loving heavenly Father: “With the help of your grace, I will not sin again.” We can only defeat the devil with the help of God’s grace, grace we can receive sacramentally in confession. Let us make it our Lenten resolution to follow our Lord into the desert and to follow his example in overcoming our temptations, by the strength of his grace.
May we strive to become more selfless, more trusting, and more loving; seeking Jesus our Shepherd to protect and guide us In those moments when may stray from his footsteps, Lord please seek me out and give me the grace to follow you more closely. Amen.
Fr Joseph Osho
