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We are like the prodigal son in that beautiful Gospel parable. And our Lenten observance is our return to the Father like prodigal children, confident that there's going to be a fatted calf and a ring and a magnificent garment for us to wear--that there is going to be reconciliation.
Every contour of our life, every struggle of our life, every difficulty in our Lenten observance is united with our blessed savior.
Saint John Chrysostom tells us the Israelites were free were freed from slavery to a pagan people. You have been freed from much greater slavery to sin.
The church believes that Christ died and rose for all. His is the only name under heaven in which men can be saved.
On Fridays of Lent, we encourage you to attend the Stations of the Cross.
It's one thing to love our friends and those who are close to us, those who are good to us, but it is really an imitation of Christ that we learn how to love our enemies.
Lent is a great opportunity for us to remember that we are that lost sheep: we repent of our sins and we strive to return some measure of love in our penances and in our fasting.
What we do as Christians during Lent is united toward a singular, beautiful goal: the Resurrection of our Lord.
The Church is the new people of God. We are the new Israel. We are the fulfillment, through Jesus Christ, of all of the covenants and all of the promises of the old law.
The reason why we do anything at all as Christian believers is because we are imitating our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our focus for today, my dear brothers and sisters, is gratitude for God's immense blessings.
We have a service that we need to render to God, the service of our prayer, the service of our repentance, the gift of our mortification and our fasting.
In our Lenten observance, we have fixed moments of prayer. But prayer of the heart is something that can and should accompany us throughout the entire day while we're fasting.