The lesser gives way to the greater

How can the Christian be washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14)?

The lesser things must give way to the the greater.

What is the “greater”? Finding one’s purpose in life and achieving its ultimate fulfillment in the next.

We live on this earth for one purpose before our bodies return to the dust: “…to know God, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next” (Baltimore Catechism, L. 1, Q. 150).

This seems so simple, but if one looks around he would be hard-pressed to find people genuinely living this way.

One would more likely see those living for the lesser pleasures. But with Christianity, the lesser pleasures are not shunned but ordered towards what God has in mind for His people: learning to do good, seeking justice, and actively defending the most vulnerable and forgotten (Isa 1:16-17).

Who are the most neglected in our Western society today?

That’s easy–just look at who is being silenced, ignored or killed: The pre-born population, the elderly being euthanized (it is legal in 10 states in the United States right now), the young being preyed upon by the Gender Movement, and the Christians who are actively being bullied, censored and ignored.

For example, since May of 2020, there have been 298 separate attacks of vandalism, desecration and arson on Catholic Churches in the United States, with no action taken or arrests made by the Department of Justice (even though it is a federal crime to attack places of worship in the United States).

Lent: A time for clarity

Lent (meaning “Spring”) is the perfect time for clarity.

It is a time to identify good and resist evil.

It is a time to live for the higher goods, which are faith, hope and charity.

It is a time to make the lesser goods subject to one’s will.

When the Christian lives for the lower goods of wealth, pleasure and power, he degrades the dignity God has given to him–that is, he willingly places himself at the level of the animals–and begins to live on instinct alone.

Lent is a time to reassert oneself as a child of God, and to reach out to his Creator, his loving Father.

Nothing can thwart God

Though the times in which we live are evil, nothing can thwart God (Job 42:2). The lesser gives way to the greater, and the Christian has an opportunity to be washed clean again by the Blood of the Lamb in the Sacrament of Confession.

Lent is a time to allow Jesus Christ to change us, to be slowly transformed from scarlet to white (Isa 1:18).

Sin opens us up to sadness, but serving the cause of goodness and truth through providing greater love and compassion by offering a listening ear, praying for others, and making more time for family opens us up to the great joy for which we were created.

May God bless you, dear reader, during this season of Lent.

Sources: http://www.baltimore-catechism.com/lesson1.htm

“Violence Tracker,” CatholicVote.org, https://catholicvote.org/tracker-church-attacks/