“We love because He first loved us.” (1 Jn 4:19)
Lent is about returning back to our First Love, Jesus Crucified. It is an opportunity to go deeper into prayer, to have heart to heart conversations with “Him whom my soul loves.” (Sg 3:1-4)
Jesus is on a mission of marriage, to purify us, sanctify us and bring us into a holy relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Lent is a time to be reconciled with God (Rom 5:10) by going to the Sacrament of Confession with heartfelt contrition for our sins and to participate more attentively and fully in the salvific sacrifice of Jesus Crucified in the celebration of the Holy Mass, a living representation of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross at Calvary.
“At the Last Supper, on the night He was betrayed, our Savior Instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of His Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross through the centuries until He should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.” (“Sacrosanctum Concilium” 47)
This Lent, “let us search and examine our ways and return to the Lord.” (Lam 3:40)
SELF-EXAMINE
This Lenten season, let us ask ourselves, do I truly believe that God is my Father, Jesus is my Savior, and the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier of my soul? Am I actively doing what is within my power to become holy and how can I improve? What is preventing me from daily prayer and keeping me from the love of God? What are my fears and sin areas that are hindering my soul from spiritual growth and jeopardizing my eternal salvation?
SELF-AWARENESS IN GOD THE FATHER
Unshakable Truth: I am a child of God the Father.
Healing Prayer: I am Your child Heavenly Father. Please heal me of all the lies that I have believed about You, about myself and others and bring me into the Light of Your Truth. Help me to love You with all my heart, to do Your holy will in all things, to hate all that is evil and to go and sin no more…in Jesus Name Amen.
Rejoice with Conviction: “If we love in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.” (Gal 5:25)
SELF-SACRIFICE IN JESUS CRUCIFIED
Unwavering Truth: Jesus, You are my Merciful Savior, Friend and Bridegroom.
Deliverance Prayer: I believe wholeheartedly that You, Jesus, are my Savior, my Lord and my Beloved Bridegroom. Please seal me in Your Precious Blood, help me in my unbelief and deliver me in mind, body, soul, spirit of all that is not of You. Fill me with Your holy love and transform my heart into Your very Own in Jesus Name…Amen.
Rejoice with Thanksgiving: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world had been crucified to me and I to the world.” (Gal 6:14)
SELF-REALIZATION IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Unswerving Truth: I am a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Sealing Prayer: Come Holy Spirit, please reside and abide in me. Seal me with Your Holy Presence, protect me from all evil, preserve me in Your love and grace me with a deeper humility of soul, discernment of spirits and purity of heart so that I may love and serve You all the days of my life…in Jesus Name… Amen.
Rejoice with Gratitude: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thes 5:16-18)