Lent is a time of grace. Forty days are given us by the Church to return to God and to give up what leads us away from Him. Our state as sinners helps us appreciate the words of Jesus when He said: “For without Me you can do nothing” (John 15: 5). We are called to convert, that is, to change direction and follow the path of goodness, rather than the path of evil, and we must do penance. Pope Francis reminds us that the mind must rule over the body through asceticism by the three traditional ways of conversion during Lent: prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
At this time, the entire Church is called to do penance because of the sex abuse scandals that threaten the faith and scandalise the faithful. We are reminded by the Holy Father that those who have committed these crimes have become the “tools of Satan” who aim to destroy the Church of Christ. Satan will also spread false doctrines, explain cardinals Robert Sarah and Gerhard Müller. Michel Aupetit, Archbishop of Paris, also advises us to pray for one another to avoid becoming objects of scandal.
The Church’s enemies have planned to discredit Her by making us believe that all priests are corrupt when, in fact, the great majority are faithful to their vocation. We must not err by abandoning the Church and the sacraments because of a particular priest’s misconduct. There was one Judas in Christ’s time and there are more today.
The month of March is traditionally consecrated to Saint Joseph who was named Protector of the Universal Church. Let us especially ask him to protect the Church and its members more than ever before from attack.
During this Lent, let us make an effort not to be an occasion of scandal for our fellow man. Rather, let us aspire to be good Samaritans doing good works and setting a good example. When in the 9th Station of the Cross Our Lord falls for the third time, we can meditate that He is united with the sufferings of His Church. From the charity, Aid to the Church in Need, we read:
“Lord, who suffers in all those who suffer from hunger, misery, injustice and war, make us Your good Samaritans since we can be the cause of Your name being blessed or damned by individuals and peoples who only get to know You through what we do for them.
A good way to come to the rescue of those who suffer from ‘hunger, misery, injustice and war’ is to usher in a world of justice and peace by teaching the principles of Economic Democracy, also known as Social Credit. Louis Even, who consecrated his life to teaching these principles, stated they were “a light upon his path”. Good reading and good Lent!