Be Converted This Lent
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How does it feel to realise that you have sinned again? Often, we are harder on ourselves than God is and seeing our sin – especially recurring venial sins or a mortal sin – leads us to feel discouraged and dejected. Suddenly, the path to heaven seems blocked, and we feel we can’t get there.
This attitude is perhaps how we approach Lent. We feel miserable at the sight of our sins and consider ourselves worthy of the worst punishment. Perhaps we choose the hardest penance we can think of, as though that will free us from our sins.
However, what God wants from us is not to find new and innovative ways of punishing ourselves. He doesn’t want us weighed down by our sins. While we should always feel sorrow for our sins, true sorrow should not lead to discouragement and self-hatred, but to contrition and, therefore, conversion. Looking at the cross, we should see the weapon Jesus used to free us all from the clutches of sin and joyfully accept His sacrifice.
When we come to Jesus in the Sacrament of Confession with a heart full of repentance and a desire to do better, He will do the heavy lifting to free us from the chains of our sin, just as He did with the cross.
Jesus, thank you for taking on the weight of my sin. Please lead me on the path to true conversion this Lent, particularly through the Sacrament of Confession, so that my soul may be transformed by Easter.
Lent is a time for conversion and transformation. It arrives in less than two weeks. Scroll down to find a book that will help lead your heart to true conversion this Lent.
