As a practicing Catholic a big part of my faith begins this Wednesday when I begin my Lenten journey with Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday we are marked with ashes in the shape of a cross on our foreheads. As we are marked on our foreheads, with these ashes, the words "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return." are uttered. This is a sign that our life upon this Earth is fleeting and that one day we will surely stand in judgement before God. If I were to stand in judgment before God today what would He say to me? Did I live the Christ-like life that I wanted to live or would I hang my head in shame as I stand in His presance?
I have been stumped as to what I want to do this year for Lent. I am always striving to live a Christ-like life, but I sometimes I feel that is an impossible endeavor. How could I ever be like Christ, the Savior of the world? But yet, that is what I want to do. And hopefully my Lenten journey will take me closer to this endeavor of mine.
When I was looking around for some information about Lent I came across a few keywords for me to think about. Some of these words are penance, repentance, reflection, self-denial, prayer, fasting, alms-giving and self-examination.
'Self-examination' was the word that really stuck out for me. That word made perfect sense. That's really what I need to do. I need to spend this Lenten season in examination of my life and determine how I can be more Christ-like and how I can apply these principals to my life. I can't just say I want to live a more Christ-like life I need to live it. I know that's easier said than done, especially in this crazy and chaotic world we live in today, but nothing is impossible. With Christ all things are possible.
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