Bits of the Gospel

I must release others from all my attempts to control, coerce, and dominate them with my love. In their freedom from me, other persons want to be loved for who they are, as those for whoom Christ became a human being, died, and rose again, as those for whom Christ won the forgiveness of sins and prepared eternal life. This is the meaning of the claim that we can encounter others only through the mediation of Christ. Love as the deed of simple obedience is death to the old self and the self's discovery to exist now in the righteousness of Christ and in one's brothers and sisters. [Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Meditation and Prayer] Why is there so much urge to hold on and control, manipulate and use others? Trinity blessed, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, hear us. O Lord, deliver us from from this vice. Teach us to let others free as you do. To your glory and praise. Amen!

Lent kicks off with that evangelical call: Repent and believe the Good News. Lent is really a time to renew one's life. The things to be done emerge from the Liturgy of Ash Wednesday: Pray, Fight evil by fasting, and offerings. Then, we have Ashes calling us to the reality of our humanity. We are "made of clay", simple earthenware which should by all means "bring us down" to our senses. That act of imposition of ashes right on our foreheads makes us reflect [moreover when we see ashes on the foreheads of our brothers and sisters]. We are not only reminded of our precariousness but also of the need to rely on God. That cannot be possible unless we are humble enough to take seriously the call to repent and believe the Good News! The image of sackcloth is very touching. We are not dressed in "purple linen". Nothing close to that. We dress in the rough sackcloth [made of sisal threads!] to remind us of our duty to fight the evil. What evil? The evil wi...