“The fast of Lent has no advantage to us unless it brings about our spiritual renewal. It is necessary while fasting to change our whole life and practice virtue. Turning away from all wickedness means keeping our tongue in check, restraining our anger, avoiding all gossip, lying and swearing. To abstain from these things— herein lies the true value of the fast.”

— St. John Chrysostom Jesus says ‘they honor me with their lips but there hearts are far from me’ The purpose of Lent is a change of heart. We give up things coffee etc or we do something like pray extra prayers not as ends in themselves but to have a new Heart. The reading this morning from Sirach ‘Delay not your conversion to the Lord, put it not off from day to day.’ Jesus wants your heart. Fasting prayer and almsgiving are simply the means by which we allow God to change our hearts. If our hearts are not changed everything we might do is worthless in terms of our salvation. So this Lent ask the Holy Spirit to give you a new heart. Ask Mary to give you her heart. Pope Francis said today about our need for conversion ‘Francis reminded those in his chapel that we are not eternal and therefore cannot do whatever we want, trusting in God’s infinite mercy.

Don’t believe you will get away with it

“So don’t be rash and reckless and believe that you will get away with it,” the Pontiff admonished, saying: “You may get away with it once, but you don’t know what’s next.”

“Don’t say: ‘God’s compassion is great, he’ll forgive me my many sins,’ and so I continue doing what I want,” Francis underscored, adding: “Regarding this, the advice of the father or grandfather is: “Don’t wait to convert yourself to the Lord, don’t postpone it from day to day because the anger of the Lord will suddenly burst forth.”