The Holy Season of Lent
began this year on 14 February 2018 - ASH WEDNESDAY.
As of today, a weekly
spiritual video talk will be posted every Sunday on this Friends of
Divine blog until Palm Sunday - the 6-part DIVINE LENTEN 2018
WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION SERIES - so that every one of us will seek to
live for Jesus with no self-willed barriers in our hearts and mind but to
proclaim the Glory of God.
On Holy Thursday, a
Eucharistic Adoration service will be posted.
Let us open our hearts
to the call of Pope Francis' LENTEN 2018 Message:
"By devoting more
time to prayer, we enable our hearts to root out our
secret lies and forms of self-deception, and then
to find the consolation God offers. He is our Father and he wants us to live
life well."
"Almsgiving sets
us free from greed and helps us to regard our neighbour as a brother or sister.
What I possess is never mine alone. How I would like almsgiving to become a
genuine style of life for each of us! How I would like us, as Christians, to
follow the example of the Apostles and see in the sharing of our possessions a
tangible witness of the communion that is ours in the Church! For this reason,
I echo Saint Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians to take up a collection for
the community of Jerusalem as something from which they themselves would
benefit (cf. 2 Cor 8:10). This is all the more fitting during
the Lenten season, when many groups take up collections to assist Churches and
peoples in need. Yet I would also hope that, even in our daily encounters with
those who beg for our assistance, we would see such requests as coming from God
Himself. When we give alms, we share in God’s providential care for each of His
children. If through me God helps someone today, will He not tomorrow provide
for my own needs? For no one is more generous than God."
"Fasting weakens
our tendency to violence; it disarms us and becomes an important opportunity
for growth. On the one hand, it allows us to experience what the destitute and
the starving have to endure. On the other hand, it expresses our own spiritual
hunger and thirst for life in God. Fasting wakes us up. It makes us more
attentive to God and our neighbour. It revives our desire to obey God, who
alone is capable of satisfying our hunger."
The first video
of the 6-part DIVINE LENTEN 2018 WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION SERIES at
the top of this post is "REPENTANCE LEADS US TO THE LOVE OF GOD” by Rev.
Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C., Director – Divine Retreat Centre, Muringoor.
Kerala. India
In this Spirit-filled
homily, Fr. Augustine explains with insightful wisdom why Jesus'
first preaching, " 'Repent! The Kingdom of God
is at Hand' (Matthew 4:17) is a message of great value for every one of us - a
message of great hope! We know the prophets of the Old Testament came down to
the people and often when they spoke , it was the language of fire and brimstone
falling from Heaven to burn the human race. A God who was waiting to punish and
eliminate the human race because of our sin."
"But the
tone of Jesus is altogether different - a tone of God's Mercy and
Forgiveness - giving you and me a great hope! We know how sinful we are. We
know there is "'unfreedom' in the very centre of our hearts."
"What does it mean
to repent? To repent means "I turn to God. I look at His Face. I turn away
from my sins...I turn away from all that is captive in my heart. I turn to God
and say, "I surrender! I place all the wretchedness in my heart in the
Hands of God. That is what repentance means"
"Often people
mistake repentance for guilt feelings. The two are very different. Repentance
comes out of love. I know my God loves me. I know that He will forgive me. But
guilt does not come from love. It comes from pride. Guilt feeling leads us to
sadness but repentance leads us to love - to believe in the God who saves
me."
Fr. Augustine explains
with enlightening clarity why true repentance of a single person bring great
rejoicing in Heaven!
Next Sunday, Rev. Fr.
Michael Payyapilly V.C., Director, Tabor Divine Retreat Centre, Mumbai, India
will be sharing the Word of God on a
heart-provoking topic - "WHY CONFESSING TO A PRIEST MATTERS".
Please do share this
Divine Lenten 2018 Weekly Video Reflection series with your loved ones, prayer
groups and friends to make this sacred season of Lent a truly transforming
experience in our Christian life.
