Father Cedric Pisegna is a Passionist priest based in Houston, Texas. The Passionists have a special devotion to the Passion of Christ, and their main charism is evangelization. Fr. Pisegna has shows that air on three Christian television networks, one being EWTN, and has written many books. Today we discuss his latest book, "Your Best Lent Ever,” available at Frcedric.org.

The Connection Between Purification and Trust

Lent is a time of purification and has to do with growth, change, and ongoing conversion; suffering and trials are a part of that process. We are being purified like gold; you don’t know how much you trust until you are being purified. Trust is a big part of the Divine Mercy message and Jesus wanted the words, “Jesus I trust in You,” below the image of Divine Mercy. These words allow us to handle any situation even if we don’t understand it.

The Lenten Basics

Lent is a season of preparation where we focus on Christ’s Passion and look ahead to His Resurrection; it begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts 40 days (excluding Sunday) and is a season of enlightenment. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are three pillars.

Memento Mori

In the Last Judgment we will be separated like the sheep and goats; how we reach out and are kind to people is critical. During Lent, we should read Scripture and other books, and pray and reflect on what we read.

Faith in Action

We must remember that God’s love is greater than our greatest sin. Like an athlete prepares for an event, we must prepare and do our exercises to grow spiritually and be a reflection of God’s love. We strive to become Christ-like, and be the light of the world to a hurting society. We must forgive others and ourselves, trust in the Lord in difficult situations, be a vessel of mercy, and try to carry our cross as Jesus carried His own.