ASH WEDNESDAY
We
have seen an Angel next to Our Lady with a sword of fire in her left
hand ... the Angel, pointing to the earth with her right hand, said with
a strong voice: Penance, Penance, Penance!
It teaches the catechism of St. Pius X that Lent has been instituted, 1 ° to make us understand the obligation we have to do penance all the time of our life, of which Lent is a figure, according to the Holy Fathers ; 2 ° to imitate in some way the rigorous fast of forty days that Jesus Christ practiced in the desert ; 3 ° to prepare us by means of penance to celebrate Easter with holiness.
The first day of Lent is the so-called Ash Wednesday, because that
day the Church imposes the sacred Ash in order to remind us that we are
composed of dust and dust will be reduced with death, and so we humble
ourselves and do penance for our sins, while we have time. The dispositions with which we should receive the sacred Ash are two: 1st, a contrite and humiliated heart . 2nd , the holy resolution to spend Lent in works of penance .
The catechism adds that in order to live Lent according to the intention of the Church, we must do four things: 1 st keep
exactly the fasts, the abstinence and mortify us not only in illicit
and dangerous things, but also as soon as we can in the lawful, as it
would be moderating in the recreations; 2nd to do prayer and alms, and other works of piety with the neighbor more than ordinarily, 3 to hear the word of God, not out of habit or curiosity, but with a desire to put into practice the truths that are heard; 4th carefully prepare the confessions to make meritorious fasting and better disposed to Easter communion.
The girl Jacinta Marto, seer of Fatima, said that in one of her apparitions, the Virgin had said: "Pray, pray a lot and make sacrifices for sinners ... many souls go to hell because there is no one to pray and sacrifice for them ... "... The sins that most take souls to hell are the sins of the flesh ... The sins of the world are very great. If men knew what Eternity is, they would do everything to change their lives. Men are lost because they do not think about the death of Jesus and do not do penance . "
The following is read in the story of the Third Secret of Fatima: we have seen on the left side of Our Lady a little higher on an Angel with a sword of fire in the left hand; scintillating emitted flames that seemed to set the world on fire; but they were extinguished in contact with the splendor that Our Lady radiated with her right hand directed towards him; The Angel pointing to the earth with his right hand said in a loud voice: Penance, Penance, Penance! But, with an equally strong voice, men - also Catholics, also traditionalists - respond: "freedom, pleasure, comfort!"
Father Paul Kramer: Fatima, Your Last Chance
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