The Holiest Days are Upon Us

Holy Thursday is here.

Lent seemed to go by in the blink of an eye, and now the holiest days of the year are upon us.

As usual, I don’t feel prepared. I grew lax in my Lenten penance. And instead of humbly and gratefully accepting the crosses that came my way, I fought them, resisting and complaining.

Thank God for Jesus.

With Him, it’s never too late in our earthly journey to begin again.

He said so in His parable of the workers in the vineyard, demonstrating His extreme generosity, even to us late-starters.

And there’s the witness of St. Dismas, the “good thief” crucified with Jesus, who with a contrite heart professed his belief in his final hour and heard our Lord say, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Jesus’ mercy isn’t something to take advantage of, a way to intentionally delay what He asks of us. His mercy is The Way He speaks of. No one can go to the Father, except through the Son, Who is mercy itself.

So despite any of our failings, we can relax today and begin anew, trusting in His Way and not our own feeble attempts at holiness.

And in His mercy, Jesus can transform us through His death and resurrection, which we are about to commemorate. If we just have trust and a contrite heart.

My Jesus, have mercy! Give us new life through your death and resurrection!

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.