The following is the first part in a series of Lenten reflections by Rev. Emmanuel Charles McCarthy. The introduction is his words.
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Friends,
Lent is a time the Church specifically sets aside for a prolonged examination of conscience and for repentance of those matters in our lives that are not in conformity with the will of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. It is a time for recognizing infidelity to Christ-God and to our fellow human beings. It is not primarily about making a laundry list of one’s traditional sins and garnering internally a firm resolve not to commit them again—although it does include this. It is primarily metanoia, a change of mind and heart, with which to walk into the remainder of one’s life’s time. A change from what to what? It is a change from untruth, in which we have an investment of our time, mind and/or money and on which we have bestowed the name “truth,” to the truth taught by Jesus in the Gospels. It is a change from incarnational allegiance to the will of God, to a standard of good and evil, as proclaimed by corporate mass media and the 501c3 religious and educational institutions that serve as its religious legitimators to the will of God as revealed in the person and teaching of the Jesus of the Gospels—the only Jesus there is, was or ever will be and the only teaching of Jesus there is, was or ever will be.
To assist in this examination of conscience I will be forwarding to you on each Wednesday and Friday of Lent a short (10 minutes or less) Lenten video reflection to help wash out the corroding and corrupting stain of untruth being passed off as Gospel truth, of evil being masquerading as good. The few days between each video is intended to allow time to personalize the content of the most recent presentation and to integrate it with previous presentations. There is a logical order to the sequence of reflections. The series was professionally produced in studio in Birmingham, England.
Peace, “but not as the world gives peace,” is the fruit of repentance, metanoia.
Charlie