The perfect story of redeeming love

I was looking up movies and books to try and find a story about sin and redemption. Some cute little opening that would help me to share the gospel for today. Funny thing is, while searching for redeeming love on the internet, it suddenly struck me how blind I am. All I needed was the story of the passion and the resurrection. Isn’t that the perfect story of redeeming love? I mean, it seems better to focus on that than my sins during Lent. Ummm, wait, the story is still about my sin!

Sin, is defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as, “an offense against reason, truth and right conscience”. Since I was a little girl, I have been told to avoid sin and yet still I remain a sinner. In John 8:21-30, Jesus states, “For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” I think Jesus is telling me to get it together. Straighten out so I do not ‘die in my sins’, but find everlasting life with him. To do that I must understand that Jesus wants me to live a life that is more like him. You know living that ‘what would Jesus do’ philosophy! Living a life with this philosophy would bring more grace upon me and help me grow closer to Jesus who died on the cross for my very own sins. I do want to live a life without sin and find the redeeming love of Jesus.  But it’s hard! Life is always there to keep distracting me. I find myself saturated with nonsense and at times I slip a little further from my goal of living a sinless life.

How can I change?  And more importantly, where do I start?

During Lent we have the opportunity to recalibrate and renew our relationship with Jesus. We are preparing for the resurrection. How great is that? We join in the suffering of our Lord on the cross, however small our sacrifice may be, so that we may revel in the celebration of His resurrection on Easter Sunday. Our preparation is what matters most. We know the three things expected of us during Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. With that in mind we must all find a way to discipline ourselves as we journey through this Lenten season and avoid sin while praying daily, fasting on Fridays and giving back to the community. This is the prelude to a strong relationship with our Lord. By starting a relationship with Jesus this Lent, we can begin anew. We can look sin in the face and say, “not today!” By doing this we will join our Lord on the cross and share His suffering, wrap ourselves in His redeeming love, and see vividly the hope of one day joining Him in heaven. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

Let us pray:
O Lord and Master of my life,
keep from me the spirit of indifference and discouragement,
desire for power, and idle chatter.
Instead, grant to me, your servant,
the spirit of wholeness of being,
humble-mindedness, patience and love.
O Lord and King,
grant me the grace to be aware of my sins
and not to judge my brother;
for You are blessed, now and ever and forever. Amen.
(Prayer of St. Ephram)

Author: Diane Camara, Jesuit Dallas Staff