One Week. Zero Sins.

 

One Act of Love

We begin Holy Week, the holiest week in the Catholic and Christian calendar. This is the week where we see, in full, the tremendous love that Jesus has for us.

In the Gospel reading, there is one act of love that stands out. A woman breaks a jar of costly perfume and pours it over Christ’s head. This was not a casual gesture. When a king or queen was crowned, oil was poured over their head as a symbol of strength and authority. This woman does exactly that for the Lord.

What does Jesus say in response? “Amen, I say to you, wherever the Gospel is proclaimed to the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” One act of love. Remembered forever.

A Challenge Born in the Confessional

A few days ago, during confessions, something came out that was never planned. Listening to that first confession, these words came forward: starting today, the beginning of Holy Week, try not to commit any sins. No sins. From now until Easter.

After saying it once, it felt right. Every person who came to confession that week received the same penance. Now the challenge extends to everyone.

You might say that sounds impossible. It is not impossible. It is difficult. But consider the Act of Contrition that every Catholic prays at the end of confession:

“Oh my God, I am truly sorry for all the wrong I have done. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you, whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with the help of your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the occasions of sin.”

We say those words. This week, let’s mean them.

What a Pure Heart Actually Feels Like

Think about what it would feel like to go to bed every single night with a pure heart. Completely united with God. At peace with your soul and your mind.

Most of us do not know what that feels like. That is exactly the point of the challenge. From Palm Sunday to Easter, try not to sin each day. Go to bed and find out what that peace actually feels like.

Is it going to be difficult? Yes. Is it going to be a challenge? Absolutely. But what a beautiful way to show love for the Lord, who in today’s reading showed how much he is willing to suffer, sacrifice, and give for us.

Why We Will Forget (And What to Do About It)

Here is the honest truth about why this is hard. We are going to forget.

As soon as we pull out of the parking lot, someone will cut us off. We will wake up tomorrow morning and forget. We will get to work and forget. We will sit down in the office and forget. We will be with the children and forget.

That forgetting is what makes it difficult. If we can keep the challenge in mind, just remember what we agreed to today, it becomes so much easier to catch ourselves before we slip.

Starting Over With an Act of Contrition

One final note. If there is a slip-up, do not give up. Before going to bed, say an Act of Contrition. That brings you back to zero. Back to a clean slate.

So the challenge is on the table. From today until Easter, try not to commit any sins. Try to go to bed every night with a pure heart. And if you fall, get back up before the night is over.

Amen.

Pain Is Not Your Enemy: Stop Running from It

 

The Temptation We Never Name

As we enter Holy Week, the Passion narrative puts a specific temptation right in front of us. It is not one we talk about often. But it gnaws at us constantly.

It is the temptation to believe that we can live a better life than Jesus did.

That might sound strange at first. But look at how it plays out in the story, and you will recognize it immediately.

Pontius Pilate and the Escape Route

Pilate’s wife sends him a warning. “Don’t have anything to do with this man.” And Pilate wants to listen. He wants out.

But the crowd is chanting. The pressure is real. So he looks for an escape route.

That is exactly what this temptation looks like in everyday life. When doing what is right, good, and holy leads toward pain, we start scanning for a way around it. Pilate found one. It cost him everything worth keeping.

If you want to do what is right and good and holy, you are going to go through pain and suffering. There is no version of the story where that is not true.

Judas and the Mercy We Forget

Judas is a more complicated figure than people often allow. Matthew, of all the Gospel writers, is the most sympathetic toward him.

“Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, deeply regretted what he had done.”

It is like stealing something small from a store and then feeling far worse than whatever you got out of it. It was not worth it. Matthew sees that clearly, and he lets the reader see it too.

The Church, for its part, has never declared that any specific person is in hell. Not one. That judgment belongs entirely to God. What happened between Judas and God at the end is not something any of us can claim to know.

Judas’s real problem was not the betrayal itself. It was that he could not forgive himself. He could not look up and see God looking back.

Peter and the Fear of Suffering

Peter denies Jesus three times. The reason is straightforward. He is afraid.

He does not want to suffer. So he creates distance. He separates himself from Jesus one denial at a time.

Most of us know that feeling. We may not use those words, but the movement is familiar. When staying close to Christ gets costly, the instinct is to back away.

What Keeps Us Close

So what holds us to Christ when the pressure builds? Three things.

• Faith

• Hope

• Love

Faith, hope, and love are the glue. They are what make it possible to keep doing what is right and good and beautiful, regardless of the cost. Without them, the escape routes start to look reasonable.

Even children know suffering. It starts early and it does not stop. The question is never whether difficulty will come. The question is whether we stay united with Jesus when it does.

God’s Greatest Power

Here is the thing about staying. When we hold on through the worst of it, something remarkable becomes possible.

God’s greatest power is taking your worst day and turning it into something glorious. That is what He is famous for. That is the whole point of the story we tell this week.

We call the day of the crucifixion Good Friday. Think about that word. Good. Only God can do that to a day like that.

Lent and the Long Practice

That temptation to separate ourselves from the love of God will always be with us. It does not go away. This is exactly why Lent exists.

The Lenten practices we take on, the promises we make and keep, are training. They are how we build the habit of staying close to the Lord no matter what happens.

That is the work. And that is the hope.