Some Special Intentions at Work During This First Week of Passiontide - 2
We're looking for some special intentions at work during this first week of Passiontide. Last time we focused on personal intentions - those that spring from the faults and sins that typically infect our thoughts, words, and behavior during the work day.
We know how these not only offend Our Lord now, but we know that these were the reason He suffered and died for us.
We recall that Our Lord offered Himself to His Father in reparation for our sins. Our sins. He suffered, died, and was buried because of us. During Lent we join Him in a special way. Our prayers, fasting, and almsgiving served as a base for us to join him in His Sacrifice.
In this way, we can offer our own penitential practices in reparation for sin. Each of us knows - or should have some good idea - of our own sins. If we examine our consciences each day, we're more aware of these.
While pour personal sins are the appropriate object of our efforts, we can also consider an intention to make reparation for the sins of others. Not that we're in a position to judge anyone's soul of course. But we likely hear words or observe behavior that objectively offends Our Lord.
Simple example are the commonly offensive use of His Name. Can you count how many times you've heard folks say "Christ," or "Jesus Christ"? It's become so common, we may even ourselves have slipped into this habit, although one hopes not.
During the recent "Pandemic" Mess, many of us faced a mandate that we take an experimental "vaccine." Some of these were developed from the use of human embryos - which are human beings. Indeed a recent court decision stated that human embryos were human beings - putting into question the practice of freezing embryos for later use to implant into a woman's womb - a subject, perhaps, for another time.
But if we faced this mandate, and we understood that it was wrong - therefore evil - to allow someone to inject us with something that involved killing human beings (embryos), we might have appealed in some way to our religious beliefs and or conscience. While I did not face this, I know others who did
What was truly disturbing was when the Vatican somehow justified this practice. Which brings us, sadly, to our Holy Church - or at least those Bishops and Priests - who have lost their way. And unless you've lived on a deserted island in recent years, you know these go all the way to the top. It should be apparent to any Catholic who has even a modest understanding and awareness of our Faith and our Religion.
During Passiontide, we might intensify the offering of our Lenten penances in such reparation.
Applying
these practices during a busy work day can be challenging. We've
discussed this challenge throughout Lent this year. With the onset of
Passiontide, we can harvest the special graces God will give us to focus more intently on our Lenten spirit and practices, even as we continue to diligently pursue our duties.
Without unduly extending a review of these intentions for the offenses of others, we might simply recognize that our country, indeed the whole world, and especially Our Holy Catholic Church cry out for reparation.
Here, now, during Passiontide, we can run a gauntlet of reparation with our careful, assiduous practice of our Lenten discipline. If we keep in mind the suffering and death of Our Lord - especially recalling these in some detail - it would serve as a perfect motivator and sustainer of our efforts.
We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee
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