Reject the False Father & Live the Reality of God's Love (2 of 2)

If we only realized how we hurt others & ourselves, who are living images of God on earth, we might cease the sheer madness of sinning with its brutal consequences.

Sin's desolation is far worse than that of the fiercest worldly conflicts, which are merely the "outermost fruit" of sin's hideous offspring that often remains hidden & very much alive deep within our hearts.

The greatest damage inflicted by sin is always the harm to my *own* soul & my relationship with God. Lent and Holy Week are the time to "rip sin out by the roots" by a good Examination of Conscience & thorough Confession.



As we prayerfully reflect on Our Lord's Sacred Passion during these most holy days of the year, we remember how He Who IS Love & Life Himself took on our full human condition of rejection, torture & death for our salvation - overflowing with most tender Love, Mercy & Compassion for us.

In the Light of His Amazing Love, I can say:
Woe to me if I am not moved to repentance by the Passion of my God! Woe to me if I take His Sacrifice for granted with ingratitude! Woe to me if I do not humble myself & open my heart to receive His Gift of Pardon which He won for me at the Infinite Price of His Most Precious Blood, & which He freely offers to me in every Confession, Communion, & fellow brother or sister who I am blessed to encounter - especially the poor or annoying people who cannot duly repay me in this earthly life.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me - for I am truly the sinner on earth most in need of Your Love & Forgiveness. Amen.

+Br. Philip Maria Allen, CFR
St. Felix Friary
Yonkers, NY, USA