Tag: Resurrection

Forgive Yourself First

In this season of Lent, there is a lot of talk about sin and redemption leading up to the Resurrection of Easter. I have learned the hard way that if you want to be forgiven by God, you first need to forgive yourself. You have to acknowledge what you did wrong, have a contrite heart, and then ask for forgiveness. But you always first have to forgive yourself.

Lent ends with Easter and Jesus dying on the Cross and rising from the dead. What Jesus did was take ALL of the sins of mankind—past, present, and future—and let those sins die on the Cross with Jesus’ human body. All sins are gone. If you believe in what Jesus did, you forgive yourself in acknowledging your sin(s), and ask for forgiveness with a contrite heart, your sins are forgiven. But there are no shortcuts.

I know this because I am a great sinner. I screw up all the time. I think it’s just part of being human. But I am getting better at not screwing up by staying as close to God as possible. I’m far from perfect but I try to be.

Take a good read of Psalm 51 where David realizes he screwed up BIG TIME! Read it carefully and meditate on it. Then, start by forgiving yourself. Don’t dwell on your sin(s). Repent and move on. But you have to mean it. You can’t just sluff it off.

Forgive yourself (and others) to be forgiven.

Enjoy the week ahead!

My Heart is Breaking as Notre Dame Burns

I have been thinking all day about a post for this afternoon. Normally, something pops into my head and it just flows. Today was different. Then, the news of Notre Dame burning down hit my computer. My heart just sank. I feel like someone died. Someone, something did die. Two hundred years in the making. An iconic site in Paris. A house of God. And the fire can’t be stopped. Notre Dame will burn down to the ground.

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I’m so lucky to have visited Notre Dame and actually to have gone to Mass there. It was such an amazing experience. And now it’s burning down to the ground.

There are just no words to express the loss!

As a Catholic, this Holy Week is a conflicting time of death and Resurrection. Jesus died an ugly death that left all His followers hopeless, alone, and devastated. But out of that death rose a Savior that changed the world forever. He brought life, hope, and a future.

I am hoping that out of this Notre Dame tragedy comes life, hope, and a future. Maybe the loss of Notre Dame will rally people to rebuild it. Maybe an increasing secular France will rally around a church—the house of God. Let’s hope. Let’s pray.

I’m not much into symbols but the burning of Notre Dame may be saying something. God is less a part of our lives than ever. That’s a major part of our problem. As I wrote recently, we’re like the Israelites roaming the desert for 40 years, constantly turning our back on God. The result wasn’t pretty then. All but two of the original group of Israelites made it out of the desert. The result isn’t pretty now.

Sorry for a downbeat post but this is a downbeat day. A symbol of so much is lost. Let’s hope out of death there is a Resurrection!