“Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.” // Acts 3:19
In today’s readings—on the Third Sunday of Easter—we hear of the need for repentance and conversion, so that our sins may be wiped away. It seems like a rather “Lent-ish” reading to land so solidly in the Easter season. As Catholics, we have the season of Lent to give us another chance, to enter into life-changing habits, but so often after Lent passes us by, we are back to our old ways. Perhaps it is because as a culture, we often commit to changing our habits but stop short of inviting God to transform our lives. Instead, we return to the attachments that keep us from real conversion.
It turns out, resolving to do better simply isn’t good enough. If we want our lives to be transformed by Christ, we must glance back as well as look forward. Where do we first need repentance before we enter into deeper conversion? What tendencies are keeping us trapped, even after Easter?
If you see your life needs radical change, don’t wait until December 31, 2024, or the beginning of next Lent. Take it to prayer today. Ask the Lord to show you how and where He desires you to grow. Go to Confession and start anew.
Saint Jerome said, “As often as the world’s vain ambition delights you [ . . . .] transport yourself in your thoughts to paradise: begin to be what you shall be” (source).
What and who do you want to be? Let’s start anew today.
Dr. Mary Ruth Hackett is a writer, national speaker, and podcast host covering topics in psychology and faith. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and works at the important intersection of faith and developmental science, blending them in the original harmony God intended. Dr. Mary Ruth is the author of Daughter by Design: Discovering Your Identity as God's Beloved Daughter, and co-coauthor of Spiritual Discernment for Beginners: Learning to Hear God and Defeat the Lies of the Enemy. She is a contributing author to All She Had and our children’s devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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