OFTEN we enter Lent with a sense of trepidation–a fear of the sacrifice of dying to self.

I suppose it is how the grain feels as it is buried beneath the furrow, or the caterpillar as it is entombed by the cocoon, or the trout as it is encased beneath the winter ice.

But how tragic if the seed were to lay on top of the furrow, only to be blown away by the wind! Or the caterpillar to refuse the cocoon and never rise with wings! Or the fish to escape icy waters and suffocate in the snow!

O Soul, embrace this Cross before you. There is Resurrection beyond the tomb!