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Ash Wednesday is February 17th
We are 7 days away, how is your discernment progressing?
A word today about "giving up a sin for Lent."
It does not work.
At least, it does not work the way fasting from an ordinary or even virtuous action does.
When you give up a non-sinful pleasure, say Blue Bell, your sacrifice is a small note played in harmony with the Great Sacrifice that Christ made for you.
When you give up a sin, that is a good thing for you – but it is not a worthy sacrifice to offer to God.
We do not teach people to steal money in order to put it in the offering plate, do we?
So, by all means give up the sin that plagues you… But:
v Don’t give it up just for Lent;
v Don’t stop there, fill the hole left in your life by the removal of the sin with something truly virtuous.
v Don’t forget to make a good confession. Ash Wednesday is a perfect opportunity.
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Hoss+
I was listening to a CD this morning and the guy said he had made a promise to God to commit no sin this day. At the end of the day he knelt to pray. As he was beating his chest and confessing that he was a sewer and a cesspool because he did not manage even one day without sin, he realized that God made no demand on him to be sinless. He was loved in spite of his sin, and it was his love for God that would help and encourage him to sin less.
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