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Lessons From a Child's Catechism
"Now the question arises - what sacrifices can we make during Lent? There are many from which to choose. We may give up something we like - candy, movies, or comic books - and give the money to the missions or Christ's poor. Better, we can give up our own selfish wishes in order to do Christ's Will, making special efforts to be kind and patient with our brothers and sisters, our classmates , and to be obedient to our parents and teachers..."
Gr 4 Catechism, "The Vine and the Branches" , Minnesota, Newmann Press, (1961), p200-201
posted by Holly at 11:45 PM
1 Comments:
It's funny how the essence of Christianity can reach even to a child's level... Here, we see the 'good' and the 'better'; the 'Martha' and the 'Mary'...
We can do lots of stuff, we can give up lots of stuff, and there's a temptation to become pre-occupied with the 'stuff' - but a 'better' way is to give up our internal selfishness, love others more, and obey God's Will in our lives - you know - His moral norms, the demands of our vocations, his inspirations. Lent is about surrendering ourselves and our own wills to God...
"Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing..." (Joel 2:12) This Lent, whether we add additional penances, or whether we pledge a greater fidelity to our daily duties, let's focus on the internals, not just the externals... remembering that even a rule of life's true spirit is in the 'heart'.
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