How to prepare for Lent
As we approach the solemn and reflective period of Lent, it’s a time for us to pause and prepare. The Tuesday before Lent, commonly called Mardi Gras, was also once known as Shrove Tuesday because it was the custom to have one’s sins shriven by the absolution of the priest in the Confessional. What a great way to prepare.
Confession offers each of us a unique opportunity to purify our soul and renew our resolution to avoid sin so as to always remain in the state of Sanctifying Grace.
Prepare for Confession:
It offers a chance to unburden your soul, find inner peace, and strengthen your relationship with God this Lent. Embracing regular Confession will definitely obtain the grace you need to avoid sin and grow in your spiritual life. Remember that you are seeking God. Don’t hesitate, take this opportunity to cleanse your heart and draw closer to Lent’s grace. Many parish churches offer Confessions on Ash Wednesday.
Make a resolution to go to Mass and receive ashes on Ash Wednesday:
“Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return,” the priest says over us when we receive the blessed ashes. The reception of ashes reminds us that we are not made for this world. “We have not here an abiding city.” Life is short. “Be vigilant,” says Our Lord, for we know not the day nor the hour when we will be called to judgment.
Saint of the Confessional:
Saint John Marie Vianney, Patron Saint of Parish Priests, spent long hours hearing confessions every day. People came from all over France to go to him for confession. His love and esteem for this Sacrament of Mercy was great. “My children,” he would say, “One cannot understand the goodness that God had in establishing this great sacrament. If we had a grace to ask of Our Lord, we would never have imagined asking for that one there. But He foresaw our weakness and our inconstancy in goodness, and His love led Him to do what we would never have dared ask Him”.
The Confessional
(An excerpt from “The Cure of Ars” in From the HouseTops.)
“If peace and tranquility now pervade Ars, it was due to the fact that everyone living there was at peace with God and acting in conformity with His Divine Plan. Eventually, all of France heard reports about this peace, and many come seeking it and found in the confessional of the saintly priest. Whether worn out by the denial of sin and guilt, troubled by doubts of an uneasy conscience, or sick of making their erroneous reasoning their law and god, each found what every souls longs for by humbly kneeling before this simple country priest.
But why him, you may ask? Weren’t there other priests in France? The reason is that this priest was like a skilled physician when it came to dealing with souls. This doctor of souls knew how to diagnose every kind of malady and sickness quickly and accurately. With unparalled discerment, he would discover the source of any problem and would unhesitatingly insist on it being treated or cut away. …
Between 300 and 400 pilgrims arrived daily, and although he spent sixteen to eighteen hours daily in the confessional it was not unusual for persons to wait three of four days before receiving their turn.”
