Though somewhat later than usual this year, Lent is here again. It is that season of Our Holy Mother Church when, like a good mother, She insists that we prepare ourselves for the greatest act in human history - the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, God made man - the Redeemer of the world. His Passion and Death remind us of who we are and why we are here on this earth. We are here because God has created us. And for those who prove their love for Him, He has planned a great reward. This reward is the eternal, unending, happiness of being with Him forever in Heaven. This happiness is so incredible that no mind on earth - even those of the greatest Saints - can ever begin to understand it. But this is reserved for those who have proven to God that they are His friends. Those who do not want to become His true and faithful sons and daughters will go to hell instead when they die. Our Lord Himself warns us in a number of places that the number of those who find the path that leads to salvation is few.
So how can we become among those who prove to God that they want to be among His faithful friends? He Himself again summarizes what we need to do. “Unless you deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Me” you will not make it. So, like a good mother, the Church strives to help make us pleasing to our Father. So, during the Holy season of Lent, we are asked to “give something up” and “offer it up”. This is denying ourselves. When we make sacrifices, or do good works, for the love of God and Our Lady and to please Them, then we are earning merit and purifying our souls so that we can grow closer to God and to His Most Holy Mother, Mary. This is very pleasing to God and helps us to save our soul when we die.
God’s true love for us opened the gates of Heaven, but only our true love for Him will get us through them when we die. How do we know if our love is true? To the degree that we are willing to suffer to make someone happy is the degree that our love is true. There are a number of ways of suffering for God but for now, I will limit myself to that suffering which is contained in making sacrifices or by doing good works.
A sacrifice usually means you do something that you do not want to do or else you do not do something that you wanted to do. Obviously there are many things that could be sacrifices. It does not matter what it is - it only matters why you are doing it. It must be something that is against your will - that is what makes it a sacrifice.
A sacrifice can never be the fulfillment of an obligation. It can only be something that you could choose not to do. For example, a child must obey their parents in all things but sin. If your mother wants you to clean up your room, you cannot offer that up as a sacrifice – because to not do it all would be a sin. If you owed your friend five dollars and you paid him back, that can not be a sacrifice either because you owed him the money.
However, you can turn each of these duties into sacrifices by the way you do them. For example, you could clean your room quickly and poorly, complaining about it as you work. This of course is an awful way to be obedient, and would that I could say most children do not act this way. Unfortunately, the world today is filled with children who, tragically, are horribly formed and, as a result, are just a bunch of spoiled brats. If you, on the other hand, make the effort to do your work without complaining and even try extra hard to clean your room up well - this would be a sacrifice. If you chose to not spend five dollars on something you wanted for yourself so that you could pay your friend back all the sooner then you making paying the debt back a sacrifice. If these sacrifices are done specifically for the love of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary with an intention of pleasing Them by your sacrifice, then you gain merit and Jesus and Mary really receive happiness from your sacrifice.
Good works act the same way. A good work can never be something that you owe to someone. If your neighbor pays you to shovel their sidewalk when it snows, then it is not a “good work” because you are being paid for your work. But if you shoveled your neighbor’s walk for free for the Love of God, then it would be a good work. All of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy are good works. You will find them listed in my Ideas for Lent under “What Good Works can I do?”
In these lists, you will find that one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy is to pray for the dead. A very simple way to do a ‘good work’ then, would be to say a prayer for the Poor Souls in Purgatory. As you may know, Dominique is hosting a Lenten Crusade, with the goal of releasing at least 15 million Poor Souls from Purgatory by Easter Sunday. I heartily encourage you to join her and you can count each prayer you say as a good work.
Now the basic definition of a good work is something good that you have done for someone else without being repaid for your effort. The same action can appear to be a sacrifice and a good work. It does not matter which one it is - it is only important that what you do, you desire to do it for the love of God and Our Lady so that you may please Them. If you do, then Jesus and Mary really, truly receive the happiness that you want Them to. And They will love you more and more, the more you offer sacrifices and good works up for Them. And if, please God, you save your soul, then that increased love will be yours to enjoy forever in Heaven. And the more you offer sacrifices and good works like this to God and the Blessed Virgin Mary, the better chance you have of saving your soul.
Now the generousity to make sacrifices and do good works does not come easy to most of us - especially these days. However, if we have a motivation - a reason to do it - then that will help us to be generous. And so this Lent, we at Catholic Kingdom are asking each of our members, friends and visitors to join us and make many sacrifices and perform lots of good works and offer it up to console Jesus and Mary in all of Their sufferings.
Their sufferings are very great. Few people really know Them and even fewer want to love Them. And of the many that do not know Them, most people do not even care or want to. And what is tragically worse, is that there are those people (and the number grows greater each day) that not only reject the Roman Catholic Faith but God Himself. And all of these people are sending themselves to hell. This causes Jesus and Mary a lot of suffering, for They love these poor sinners very, very much. If only someone could help pay the price to save all these souls.
We can do this if we offer our sacrifices and good works to Jesus and Mary. They will use the merits of your offerings to help save large numbers of sinners. This will please God and His Mother more than you can imagine. Because not only will you help save the souls that They love, but you will show Them that you love Them, in an age when so many people despise and hate Them.
All the sins, offenses and outrages against Our Sweet and Loving Lord and His Most Holy and Wonderful Mother truly cause Them intense grief. But when we offer our sacrifices and good works to Them, to please Them, They receive a very great consolation from our love for Them which more than cancels out the pain that someone else’s hatred causes Them.
So please, this Lent, join our Lenten path. Get a copy of the chart that we have provided so that you can keep track of your sacrifices (a cross) and good works (a heart). Remember also, when you offer up anything, offer it fully united to all the merits of Jesus and Mary. Then offer it in Jesus’ Name to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. By following these steps you are infinitely increasing the power and merit of your sacrifices and good works, and so infinitely increasing the happiness you give to God and Mary and the good that They can obtain from the value of your sacrifices and good works.
If you have any questions about whether something is truly a sacrifice or a good work, then send me an email and I will be happy to let you know. In the meantime however, if you are not sure, do it anyway and offer it up nonetheless. God’s generousity is without limit and if He sees that your intention is good, He will reward you as much as He can.
He is a Most Loving Father. Let us prove to Him that we want to be His most loving children. We will be saving our souls and increasing our happiness forever in Heaven. Let us live our life in a Holy Lent that we may, at the end of our journey, experience the joys and triumph of an eternal Easter!
Thank you again for being a part of the Catholic Kingdom. We are blessed to have you with us.
Until we speak again …
I remain your friend in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary,
