Abstaining from control
Abstaining from food is easy. But how willing am I to give up control of my life to God?
The freedom of a child
Observing the joy of a small child, I asked myself, “how long has it been since I have felt this free?”
The ladder of humility
Jesus has forewarned us that anyone who exalts himself will be humbled and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted. To climb this ladder of humility to Heaven takes discipline. We must be patient and persevere quietly through all afflictions.
Risking eternity
In our dying breath Jesus won’t ask our rationale for any of our poor choices. He will ask:
“Why were you willing to risk losing Me for eternity?
Return to grace
Each year around this time I start planning for Lent. What shall I give up? What shall I take on? Continually grasping to worldly things to console emotions and appease passions is self-punishing: we punish ourselves by stepping away from His grace. Jesus is the remedy.