THE DOOR TO CHRIST

We stepped into Lent - a time of grace, of prayer, of fasting, of penance and of conversion. Lent consists precisely of the words that Our Lady repeated to us so many times here in Medjugorje: prayer,
fasting, penance, conversion. Lent is a time of grace, because in forty days - through personal trial and purification - we have the occasion to touch the bottom and the summit of a meaningful life. What is asked from us during this time is also to renounce to the joys of this world in order to become fully free, because only in freedom can our soul feel at home. During lent, it is necessary to find a moment of peace, a moment of self-denial. It is necessary to die to oneself in order to begin to live as a reflection of the light of Christ, and to shine in others. In Lent, you simply have to choose, you have to taste the bitterness of the suffering of Christ if you want to rejoice in His glorification.

Lenten days are moments when the rich and the poor must walk on the same roads; these are moments when the learned and the illiterate find a common language and become brothers united by the Cross of
Christ. In Lent, we can freely shout out: Blessed are the artisans of peace, blessed are those who suffer, blessed are those who hunger and thirst, blessed are the poor! Similarly, we can stand in line with
them and wait for the grace for us and for those who, out of God's world, make a prison for individuals and for nations. Our duty in the time of Lent is not the condemnation of the world but a rebirth through our renunciation, fasting, prayer and penance. This is the only right we have. When we do this, the world will itself will be its condemnation and will announce its own collapse.

In his trials, Jesus was praying, fasting and suffering. He knew that without the experience of suffering and without a time of personal refinement, he would not be able to transform humanity. He was utterly given to the service of men, he approached men through suffering, by his drops of sweat, he watered the seed of friendship between man and God, and by his blood sealed forever the covenant. This is a clear example we also should follow. We have to seek Jesus in suffering and in self-denial. So, whenever you enter into suffering, illness, fear, anguish - know that this is the door to Christ. This is how your situation becomes a meeting point with God. This is why those who suffer are a blessing for the earth, the society and the nation. So let us follow Christ and put into practice the appeals of the Queen of Peace from Medjugorje. And let us not forget: Without Golgotha, Easter cannot shine!

Fr. Mario Knezovic

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