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<\/p>\nLENTEN RETREAT
\n Day 19<\/p>\n
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\u00a0<\/p>\n
BLESSED <\/strong>is the one who perseveres.<\/p>\n Why are you discouraged, my dear brother or sister? It is in perseverance that love is proven<\/em>, not in perfection, which is the fruit of perseverance.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The saint is\u00a0not the person who never falls, but rather the one who never fails to get up again, humbly and with a holy stubbornness.<\/strong> \u2014St. Josemaria Escriva, Friends of God, <\/em>131<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This past summer, I was teaching one of my younger boys to swing a\u00a0hammer in one of our corrals. With wobbly hands under the weight of the tool, the lad started\u00a0to swing, missed\u00a0several times, hit\u00a0occasionally, until the nail was\u00a0bent over so far that it had\u00a0to be straightened out. But I wasn’t angry; what I saw, rather,\u00a0was\u00a0my son’s\u00a0determination and desire\u2014and I loved him all the more for it.<\/em>\u00a0Straightening the nail, I\u00a0encouraged\u00a0him, corrected\u00a0his swing, and let him begin again.<\/p>\n So too, the Lord is not counting your transgressions, missteps and faults. But He is<\/em> looking to see whether you have a heart for Him, rather than for the world; whether you turn back to Him from your distractions, or simply turn away; whether, like Jesus, you get up when falling beneath your cross, or throw it to the side and choose the wide\u00a0and easy\u00a0road. God is the most loving of fathers, and for Him, your failures are an opportunity to correct and teach you so that you may grow in maturity. Satan wants you to perceive your omissions and faults as a setback; but God wants you to see them as a stepping stone:<\/p>\n This firm resolution to become a saint is extremely pleasing to Me. I bless your efforts and will give you opportunities to sanctify yourself. Be watchful that you lose no opportunity that My providence offers you for sanctification. If you do not succeed in taking advantage of an opportunity, do not lose your peace, but humble yourself profoundly before Me and, with great trust, immerse yourself completely in My mercy. In this way, you gain more than you have lost, because more favor is granted to a humble soul than the soul itself asks for…<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0\u2014Jesus to St. Faustina,\u00a0Divine Mercy in My Soul, Diary, n. 1361<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Lord is ready to help you with a thousand graces. And so, as St. Faustina’s confessor said,<\/p>\n Be as faithful as you can to the grace of God. <\/span><\/strong>\u2014St. Faustina’s confessor, Divine Mercy in My Soul, <\/em>Diary, n. 1432<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n For some reason today, the Lord wants me to shout, “Don’t give up! Don’t let the devil discourage you!”<\/em> Listen again to the Word of God:<\/p>\n …neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38-39)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Did you notice the first word in the list is “death”? What is sin but the death of the soul? So not even your sin can separate you from the love<\/em> of God. Now, deadly sin, or what we call “mortal sin” can cut you off from God’s grace<\/em>. But not His love. He will never stop loving you.<\/p>\n If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. (2 Tim 2:13)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But what of your daily faults\u00a0and failures to grow in holiness, or what we call “venial sin”? In what is one of\u00a0the most encouraging passages in the Catechism, the Church teaches:<\/p>\n Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not break the covenant with God. With God’s grace it is humanly reparable. “Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness.”<\/span><\/strong> \u2014Catechism of the Catholic Church, <\/em>n. 1863<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That is to say, bending the nail isn’t the same as intentionally breaking it. So do not let the devil accuse you if you stumble from time to time;\u00a0tell him that you are loved,<\/em>\u00a0then ignore him, ask God’s forgiveness, and begin again.<\/p>\n Going back to my original announcement of this Lenten Retreat, [1]<\/sup><\/a>cf. A Lenten Retreat with Mark<\/em><\/span><\/span>\n
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