And you shall know the truth. And the truth will set you free

Ash Wednesday is TOMORROW,9th March 2011. A friendly reminder to all Catholics that this is a day of OBLIGATION and we must fast on this day and for 40 days until Easter Sunday.

Lent is a time of self-examination. Usually to every time we always look at others short comings and say something like "Well at least I'm holier than him" but lets try to change that way of thinking if we do that and lets begin at lent as we need to look at ourselves very carefully.

Obviously our goal is to reach heaven but sadly not everyone goes to heaven. So the question must be raise,is there something or a number of things that may keep you from going to heaven? Is there a sin, an inordinate attachment or an addiction that could prevent you from gaining eternal salvation?

It's human nature to want to avoid facing the truth cause obviously the truth would most probably hurt and in our modern culture we don't want to resolve any problems but rather we try to sweep it under the rug so to speak. Whether you are in denial or not it's very easy to detect our weaknesses whether you want to admit it or not and the things is most of the time we know what we need to do but we are afraid to do action because we don't want to face the reality of it.

Example : You are angry with someone for a long time BUT you know you SHOULD forgive him/her BUT you choose not to because it's easier to stay angry than to forgive. In your mind he/she should say sorry to YOU.

In situations like that, humility plays a big role in this. Whether you are at fault or not, aren't we call to forgive nevertheless? To make the first move? Remember, the first thing Jesus said while on Calvary if I'm not mistaken was "Forgive them Father for they do not know what they are doing." That's right Jesus chose to forgive them, to pray for them even if He had every right to smite them to hell.

Which brings me back to Ash Wednesday, the ashes on our forehead remind us of the human condition: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.(Genesis 3:19)

However in certain cases sometimes, you will have to go real deep and discover inner attitudes that may be the root of your sinful behavior. Sometimes you will need a spiritual colonoscopy. Lent is a Catholic colonoscopy. We need to go deep into ourselves and look at ourselves very closely.

Again I can't stress this enough, let's make full use of this Lent to change ourself for the better, it WILL be tough but when Easter Sunday comes we can fully rejoice with Jesus Christ when he ascends into Heaven.

For those who needs some guidance on your sinful behavior or feeling so far apart from God here are some questions you can reflect on but if your not going to be honest to yourself when thinking/answering these questions then..there is no point.

Here is a list of questions that will help you.

Do you have a serious spiritual life?

Do you attend Mass every Sunday unless you are very sick?

Do you do unnecessary work on Sunday?

Do you practice the virtue of charity? Are you patient and kind? Are you generous with your time? Do you serve others? Do you help the sick and the poor? Do you need to forgive someone?

Are you materialistic? Do you live beyond your means? Do you have a lot of unnecessary credit card debt? If so, are working on eliminating your debt? Do you support your parish financially the way that you should?

Are you lazy? Are you active in the apostolic life of the Catholic Church? Do you study the Catholic Faith? Are you content with mediocrity?

Do you go to Confession on a regular basis? Do you receive Communion with a good conscience?

REMEMBER if you feel bad when answering these questions don't beat yourself up INSTEAD,CHANGE..May God give you the strength and grace to do so.

"I can do all things IN Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13