The beauty of Ash Wednesday and the spiritual meaning behind being signed with ashes often draws lapsed Catholics back to Mass. This desire is, in fact, an invitation from the Lord himself, urging a return to full communion with the Church of Jesus Christ. Don’t let anything stand in your way. Come home, for the love of God, come home.
Lent
Third Sunday of Lent: Repentance In The Desert
It is important to understand that sin and God’s holiness are incompatible. There is a radical conflict between the total and infinite purity, goodness, perfection and holiness of God, and the horrid, empty, constrictive and dark nature of sin. Every sin is an attack against God, his purity, holiness and truth. At the heart of sin is always a disordered self-love, a pride which seeks to suppress the truth about God and supplant the Creator with the creature.
The Sacred Season of Lent and Death to Self
In many ways, Lent is about dying: dying to self as you embrace the cross of Christ; dying to the world as you live as a citizen of heaven; dying to material wants and sensual pleasures that you may be raised by God to new heights; dying to fleeting things that you may take hold of eternal life. And all along, it is God who sustains you, gives you strength and directs your path. Lent, then, is a journey into the wondrous and beautiful heart of God.