Betrayed By a Kiss, by Michael D. O’Brien
TO enter “the school of love” does not mean one must suddenly enroll in “the school of compromise.” By this I mean that love, if it is genuine, is always truthful.
The Illuminating Fire
ASH WEDNESDAY
WHAT exactly will happen during the Illumination of Conscience? It is an event in which souls will encounter the living flame of Love who is Truth.
The School of Love
Sacred Heart, by Lea Mallett
BEFORE the Blessed Sacrament, I heard:
How I long to see your heart burst into flame! But your heart must be willing to love as I love. When you are petty, avoiding eye contact with this one, or an encounter with that one, your love becomes preferential. It is really not love at all, because your kindness to others has as its end self-love.
No, My child, love means to expend yourself, even for your enemies. Is this not the measure of love I demonstrated upon the Cross? Did I only take the scourge, or the thorns—or did Love completely exhaust itself? When your love for another is a crucifixion of self; when it bends you; when it burns like a scourge, when it pierces you like thorns, when it leaves you vulnerable—then, you have truly begun to love.
Do not ask me to take you out of your present situation. It is a school of love. Learn to love here, and you will be ready to graduate into the perfection of love. Let My pierced Sacred Heart be your guide, that you too may burst into a living flame of love. For self-love douses the Divine Love within you, and renders the heart cold.
Then I was led to this Scripture:
A Letter of Sorrow
TWO years ago, a young man sent me a letter of sorrow and despair to which I responded. Some of you have written asking “whatever happened to that young man?”
Since that day, the two of us have continued to correspond. His life has blossomed into a beautiful testimony. Below, I have reposted our initial correspondence, followed by a letter he recently sent me.
Dear Mark,
The reason I’m writing you is because I don’t know what to do.
[I’m a guy] in mortal sin I think, because I have a boyfriend. I knew I would never go into this lifestyle my entire life, but after many prayers and novenas, the attraction never went away. To make a really long story short, I felt I had nowhere to turn and started to meet guys. I know it’s wrong and it doesn’t even make much sense, but I feel it’s something I’ve gotten twisted into and don’t know what to do anymore. I just feel lost. I feel I’ve lost a battle. I really have a lot of inner disappointment and regret and feel I can’t forgive myself and that God won’t either. I’m even really upset with God at times and I feel I don’t know who He is. I feel He has had it out for me since I was young and that no matter what, there’s just no chance for me.
I don’t know what else to say right now, I guess I’m hoping you might be able to say a prayer. If anything, thanks for just reading this…
A Reader.
The Forerunners
John the Baptist by Michael D. O’Brien
JUST as Jesus was immediately preceded by the prophet John the Baptist, who was alive at the same time as Christ, so too the time of Antichrist—in mimicry of Christ—will be preceded by forerunners who will likewise… “Prepare the way of the [Antichrist and] make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth…” (Luke 3:4-6)
And they are here.
Vision of our Times
Painting of the “last vision” of Sr. Lucia
IN what has become known as the “last vision” of Fatima seer Sr. Lucia, while praying before the Blessed Sacrament, she saw a scene which carries many symbols for the period which began with the Virgin’s apparitions up to our present time, and the times to come:
To The Bastion! — Part II
AS the crises in the Vatican as well as the Legionaries of Christ unfold in full public view, this writing has come back to me over and over again. God is stripping the Church of all that is not of Him (see The Naked Baglady). This stripping will not end until the “money-changers” have been purified from the Temple. Something new will be born: Our Lady is not laboring as the “woman clothed in the sun” for nothing.
We are going to see what will appear to be the entire edifice of the Church torn down. However, there will remain—and this is Christ’s promise—the foundation on which the Church is built.
First published September 27th, 2007:
TWO small trumpets have been placed in my hands which I feel compelled to blow this day. The first:
That which is built on sand is crumbling!
Are You Ready?
Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers… —Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), 675
I have quoted this passage several times. Perhaps you have read it several times. But the question is, are you ready for it? Let me ask you again with urgency, "Are you ready for it?"
Pope Benedict and the Two Columns
FEAST OF ST. JOHN BOSCO
First published July 18th, 2007, I have updated this writing on this feast day of St. John Bosco. Again, when I update these writings, it’s because I sense Jesus saying He wants us to hear it again… Note: Many readers are writing me reporting that they are no longer able to receive these newsletters, even though they’ve subscribed. The number of these instances is increasing every month. The only solution is to make it a habit to check this website every couple of days to see if I have posted a new writing. Sorry about this inconvenience. You can try writing your server and ask that all emails from markmallett.com be allowed through to your email. Also, make sure that the junk filters in your email program are not filtering out these emails. Lastly, I thank all of you for your letters to me. I try to respond whenever I can, but the obligations of my ministry and family life often require that I am brief or simply unable to respond at all. Thank you for understanding.
I HAVE written here before that I believe we are living in the days of the prophetic dream of St. John Bosco (read the full text here.) It is a dream in which the Church, represented as a great flagship, is bombarded and attacked by several enemy vessels surrounding it. The dream seems more and more to fit our times…
The Luciferian Star
There will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. (Luke 21:11)
IT was about two years ago that I first noticed it. We were standing on a hill at a monastery when I looked up, and there in the sky was a very bright object. “It’s just an aircraft,” a monk said to me. But twenty minutes later, it was still there. We all stood stunned, amazed at how bright it was.
Follow Jesus Without Fear!
In the face of totalitarianism…
Originally posted May 23, 2006:
A letter from a reader:
I want to voice some concerns about what you write on your site. You keep implying that “The End [of the age] Is Near.” You keep implying that the Antichrist will inevitably come within my lifetime (I am twenty-four). You keep implying that it is too late for [chastisements to be averted]. I may be oversimplifying, but that’s the impression I get. If that is the case, then what’s the point of going on?
For instance, look at me. Ever since my Baptism, I have dreamed of being a storyteller for God’s greater glory. I have recently decided I am best as a writer of novels and such, so now I have just started to focus on developing prose skills. I dream of creating literary works that will touch people’s hearts for decades to come. At times like this I feel like I’ve been born in the worst possible time. Do you recommend that I throw away my dream? Do you recommend that I throw away my creative gifts? Do you recommend that I never look forward to the future?
Twilight of the Era
Earth at Twilight
IT seems the whole world is crying out in jubilance that we are entering a “new era” with the inauguration of President Barack Obama: an “era of peace,” renewed prosperity, and advanced human rights. From Asia to France, from Cuba to Kenya, it is undeniable that the new president is viewed as a savior, his arrival the herald of a new day.
The emotion throughout the city—and no doubt much of the country too—was palpable. People so desire President Obama to succeed that their belief in him is almost an act of faith. It was perhaps appropriate that I had to kneel for much of the inauguration ceremony—though only because the people sitting behind us demanded that we get off our feet. —Toby Harnden, US Editor for Telegraph.co.uk; January 21st, 2009 commenting on the Inauguration.
What If?
Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms… America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. —President Barack Hussein Obama, Inaugural Speech, January 20th, 2009
SO… what if Obama begins to bring stability to the world? What if foreign tensions begin to ease? What if the war in Iraq seems to conclude? What if racial tensions ease? What if the stock markets begin to rebound? What if there appears to be a new peace in the world?
Then I would tell you it is a false peace. For there can be no real and lasting peace when death in the womb is enshrined as a universal "right."
This writing, which was first published November 5th, 2008, has been updated from today’s inaugural speech.
The Prophecy at Rome
IT was Pentecost Monday of May, 1975. A prophecy was given in Rome in St. Peter’s Square by a layman little known at the time. Ralph Martin, one of the founders of what is known today as the “Charismatic Renewal,” spoke a word which seems to be drawing ever closer to fulfillment.
The Great Storm
We cannot hide the fact that many threatening clouds are gathering on the horizon. We must not, however, lose heart, rather we must keep the flame of hope alive in our hearts. For us as Christians the true hope is Christ, the Father’s gift to humanity… Only Christ can help us build a world in which justice and love reign. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Catholic News Agency, January 15th, 2009
THE Great Storm has arrived at the shores of humanity. It is soon to pass over the whole world. For there is a Great Shaking needed to awaken this humanity.
Thus says the LORD of hosts: Lo! Calamity stalks from nation to nation; a great storm is unleashed from the ends of the earth. (Jeremiah 25:32)
As I pondered over the terrible disasters which are unfolding rapidly around the world, the Lord brought to my attention the response to them. After 911 and the Asian Tsunami; after Hurricane Katrina and the wildfires of California; after the cyclone in Mynamar and the earthquake in China; in the midst of this current economic storm—there has barely been any lasting recognition that we need to repent and turn from evil; no real connection that our sins are manifesting in nature itself (Rom 8:19-22). In an almost astonishing defiance, nations continue to legalize or protect abortion, redefine marriage, genetically modify and clone creation, and pipe pornography into the hearts and homes of families. The world has failed to make the connection that without Christ, there is chaos.
Yes… CHAOS is the name of this Storm.
The Day of Difference!
Artist Unknown
I have updated this writing which I first published October 19th, 2007:
I HAVE written often that we need to stay awake, to watch and pray, unlike the slumbering apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane. How critical this vigilance has become! Perhaps many of you feel a great fear that you are either asleep, or perhaps that you will fall asleep, or that you will even run from the Garden!
But there is one crucial difference between the apostles of today, and the Apostles of the Garden: Pentecost. Before Pentecost, the Apostles were fearful men, full of doubt, denial, and timidity. But after Pentecost, they were transformed. Suddenly, these once ineffectual men burst into the streets of Jerusalem before their persecutors, preaching the Gospel without compromise! The difference?
Pentecost.
The Present and Coming Transfiguration
Carl Bloch, The Transfiguration
First published June 13th, 2007.
WHAT is this great grace that God will give to the Church in The Coming Pentecost? It is the grace of the Transfiguration.
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)
Living Wells
WHAT does it mean to become a living well?
TASTE AND SEE
What is it about souls who have achieved a degree of holiness? There is a quality there, a "substance" which one wants to linger in. Many have left changed people after encounters with Blessed Mother Teresa or John Paul II, even though at times little was spoken between them. The answer is that these extraordinary souls had become living wells.
The Great Hope
PRAYER is an invitation to a personal relationship with God. In fact,
…prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father… —Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), n.2565
But here, we must be careful that we do not consciously or unconsciously begin to view our salvation as merely a personal matter. There is also the temptation to flee the world (contemptus mundi), hiding until the Storm passes, all the while others perish for lack of a light to guide them in their own darkness. It is precisely these individualistic views which dominate modern Christianity, even within fervent Catholic circles, and has led the Holy Father to address it in his latest encyclical:
How could the idea have developed that Jesus’s message is narrowly individualistic and aimed only at each person singly? How did we arrive at this interpretation of the “salvation of the soul” as a flight from responsibility for the whole, and how did we come to conceive the Christian project as a selfish search for salvation which rejects the idea of serving others? —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Spe Salvi (Saved In Hope), n. 16
I Am Not Worthy
Peter’s Denial, by Michael D. O’Brien
From a reader:
My concern and question is within myself. I have been raised Catholic and have also done the same with my daughters. I have tried to go to church practically every Sunday and have tried to be involved with activities at church and in my community too. I have tried to be "good." I go to Confession and Communion and pray the Rosary occasionally. My concern and sadness is that I find that I am so far from Christ according to everything I read. It’s so hard to live up to Christ’s expectations. I love Him so much, but I’m not even close to what He wants from me. I try to be like the saints, but it only seems to last a second or two, and I’m back to being my mediocre self. I can’t concentrate when I pray or when I’m at Mass. I do many things wrong. In your news letters you talk of the coming of [Christ’s merciful judgment], chastisements etc… You talk of how to be prepared. I’m trying but, I just can’t seem to get close. I feel like I’m going to be in Hell or at the bottom of Purgatory. What do I do? What does Christ think of someone like me who’s just a puddle of sin and keeps falling down?
The Great Unfolding
St. Michael Protecting the Church, by Michael D. O’Brien
FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY
I HAVE been writing you consistently now, dear friends, for about three years. The writings called The Petals formed the foundation; the Trumpets of Warning! followed to expand those thoughts, with several other writings to fill the gaps in between; The Seven Year Trial series is essentially a correlation of the above writings according to the Church’s teaching that the Body will follow its Head in its own Passion.Continue reading
Don't Stop!
California
BEFORE Christmas Eve Mass, I slipped into the church to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. Suddenly, I was overcome with a terrible sorrow. I began to experience the rejection of Jesus upon the Cross: the rejection of the sheep whom He loved, led, and healed; the rejection of the high priests whom He taught, and even the Apostles whom He formed. Today, once again, Jesus is being rejected by the nations, betrayed by "high priests," and abandoned by many disciples who once loved Him and sought Him but who now compromise or reject their Catholic (Christian) faith.
Did you think that because Jesus is in Heaven that He no longer suffers? He does, because He loves. Because Love is being rejected all over again. Because He sees the terrible sorrows we are bringing upon ourselves since we do not embrace, or rather, let Love embrace us. Love is pierced once again, this time by the thorns of mockery, the nails of unbelief, and the lance of rejection.
The Value of One Soul
Christ raising Lazarus, Caravaggio
IT was the end of a string of six concerts in several small towns on the Canadian prairies. The turnouts were poor, usually less than fifty people. By the sixth concert, I was beginning to feel sorry for myself. As I began to sing that night several years ago, I looked out at the audience. I could’ve sworn that everyone there was over ninety! I thought to myself, "They probably can’t even hear my music! Moreover, are these really the people you want me to evangelize, Lord? What about the youth? And how am I going to feed my family….?" And on and on the whining went, as all the while I kept playing and smiling at the quiet audience.
How Can This Be?
St. Therese de Liseux, by Michael D. O’Brien; saint of the "Little Way"
PERHAPS you have been following these writings for some time. You have heard Our Lady’s call "to the Bastion " where she is preparing each of us for our mission in these times. You too sense that great changes are coming to the world. You have been awakened, and feel an interior preparation taking place. But you may look in the mirror and say, "What have I to offer? I am not a gifted speaker or theologian… I have so little to give." Or as Mary responded when the angel Gabriel said that she would be the instrument to bring the long awaiting Messiah into the world, "How can this be…?"
The Great Yes
The Annunciation, by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1898; Philadelphia Museum of Art)
AND so, we have arrived at the days in which great changes are imminent. It can be overwhelming as we watch the warnings which have been given begin to unfold in the headlines. But we were created for these times, and where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. The Church will triumph.
On The Eve of Change
As a woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pains, so were we in your presence, O LORD. We conceived and writhed in pain, giving birth to wind… (Isaiah 26:17-18)
… the winds of change.
ON this, the eve of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we look toward her who is the Star of the New Evangelization. The world itself has entered upon the eve of a New Evangelization which in many ways has already begun. And yet, this new springtime in the Church is one which will not be fully realized until the harshness of winter is over. By this, I mean, we are on the eve of a great chastisement.
The Great Numbering
Prisoner Tattoo of a Holocaust Survivor
First published January 3rd, 2007:
In The Great Meshing, I spoke of the interior vision I had of the political, economical, and social machines coming together like a mesh of gears to create one Great Machine called Totalitarianism.
In order for this to take place, each individual must be accounted for. One loose bolt in a machine can destroy the whole mechanism (recall Pope John Paul II and his role in the fall of the Iron Curtain). Each person must be organized and integrated, bound and conformed in the New World Order.
Dream of the Lawless One
“Two Deaths” — the choice of Christ, or Antichrist by Michael D. O’Brien
First published on November 29th, 2006, I have updated this important writing:
AT the beginning of my ministry about fourteen years ago, I had a vivid dream which is coming again to the foreground of my thoughts.
The Secret Joy
Martyrdom of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Artist Unknown
JESUS reveals the reason for telling His disciples of coming tribulations:
The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered… I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. (John 16:33)
However, one might legitimately ask, “How is knowing that a persecution may be coming supposed to bring me peace?” And Jesus answers:
In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
I have updated this writing which was first published June 25th, 2007.
Of Fear and Chastisements
Our Lady of Akita weeping statue (approved apparition)
I RECEIVE letters from time to time from readers who are very upset about the possibility of chastisements coming to the earth. One gentleman recently commented that his girlfriend thought they shouldn’t marry because of the possibility of having a child during coming tribulations.
The answer to this is one word: faith.
First published December 13th, 2007, I have updated this writing.
Be Not Afraid of the Future
First published November 19th, 2007.
TWO things. The future is one of hope; and second—the world is not about to end.
Triumph of Mary, Triumph of the Church
St. John Bosco’s Dream of the Two Pillars
THE possibility that there will be an “Era of Peace” after this time of trial which the world has entered into is something the early Church Father’s spoke of. I believe it will ultimately be “the triumph of the Immaculate Heart” which Mary foretold in Fatima. What applies to her also applies to the Church: that is, there is a coming triumph of the Church. It is a hope which has existed from the time of Christ…
First published June 21, 2007:
Trumpets of Warning! — Part V
Set the trumpet to your lips,
for a vulture is over the house of the Lord. (Hosea 8:1)
PARTICULARLY for my new readers, this writing gives a very broad picture of what I feel the Spirit is saying to the Church today. I am filled with great hope, because this present storm will not last. At the same time, I feel the Lord continually urging me on (despite my protests) to prepare us for the realities which we face. It is not a time for fear, but for strengthening; not a time for despair, but preparation for a victorious battle.
But a battle nonetheless!
The Christian attitude is twofold: one that recognizes and discerns the struggle, but always hopes in the victory attained through faith, even in suffering. That is not fluffy optimism, but the fruit of those who live as priests, prophets, and kings, participating in the life, passion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
For Christians, the moment has arrived to free themselves from a false inferiority complex… to be valiant witnesses of Christ. —Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, LifeSiteNews.com, Nov. 20th, 2008
I have updated the following writing:
I Will Keep You Safe!
The Rescuer by Michael D. O’Brien
Because you have kept my message of endurance, I will keep you safe in the time of trial that is going to come to the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. I am coming quickly. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may take your crown. (Rev 3:10-11)
First published April 24th, 2008.
BEFORE the Day of Justice, Jesus promises us a "Day of Mercy". But is this mercy not available to us each second of the day right now? It is, but the world, particularly the West, has fallen into a deathly coma… a hypnotic trance, fixated upon the material, the tangible, the sexual; upon reason alone, and science and technology and all the dazzling innovations and false light it brings. It is:
A society which seems to have forgotten God and to resent even the most elementary demands of Christian morality. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, U.S. visit, BBC News, April 20th,2008
In just the past 10 years alone, we have seen a proliferation of temples for these gods erected all over North America: a veritable explosion of casinos, box stores, and "adult" shops.
The Restrainer
St. Michael the Archangel — Michael D. O’Brien
THIS writing was first posted in December of 2005. It is one of the core writings on this site which has unfolded into the others. I have updated it and resubmit it today. This is a very important word… it places into context so many things unfolding rapidly in the world today; and I hear this word again with fresh ears.
The Writing in the Sand
IF the writing is on the wall, a line is quickly being drawn "in the sand." That is, the line between the Gospel and the anti-Gospel, the Church and the anti-Church. It is clear that world leaders are quickly leaving their Christian roots behind. As the new U.S. government prepares to embrace unrestricted abortion and unfettered embryonic stem cell research—profiting from another form of abortion—there is virtually no one left standing between the culture of death and the culture of life.
Except the Church.
Coming Soon…
Jesus and the Children by Michael D. O’Brien
THERE has been a tremendous response to my letter written to you a couple weeks ago called It’s Time. I wrote how, over a year ago, I received an interior word from the Lord that He wanted me to produce a television show to speak the "now word" to His people. The sense was that this show would come at a time when major events are unfolding and other events would be imminent. Again, recently, I heard a clear word in my heart:
It’s time.
Ark of Fools
IN the wake of the U.S. and Canadian elections, many of you have written, tears in your eyes, broken-hearted that genocide will continue in your country in the “war on the womb.” Others are feeling the pain of division which has entered their families and the sting of hurtful words as the sifting between the wheat and chaff becomes more evident. I woke up this morning with the writing below on my heart.
Two things Jesus gently asks of you this day: to love your enemies and to be a fool for Him.
Will you say yes?
The Hour of Decision
SINCE this was first posted, September 7th, 2008, the decision has been made in Canada: there will be no protection for the unborn, no end to abortion in sight. And now, America faces its greatest decision ever. I have added the video below which I just recorded. It is a supplement to the writing below, in this hour of decision. (Note: the date of the election is November 4th, not the 2nd, as stated in the video.)
The Breaking of the Seals
This writing has been on the forefront of my thoughts since the day it was written (and it was written in fear and trembling!) It is perhaps a summary of where we are at, and where we are about to go. The Seals of Revelation are likened to the “labor pains” Jesus spoke of. They are a harbinger of the proximity of the “Day of the Lord”, of retribution and reward on a cosmic scale. This was first published September 14th, 2007. It is the starting point for the Seven Year Trial series which was written earlier this year…
FEAST OF THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS/
VIGIL OF OUR LADY OF SORROWS
THERE is a word which has come to me, a rather strong word:
The seals are about to be broken.
That is, the seals of the Book of Revelation.
The Perfect Storm
“The Perfect Storm”, source unknown
First published March 26th, 2008.
From subsistence farmers eating rice in Ecuador to gourmets feasting on escargot in France, consumers worldwide face rising food prices in what analysts call a perfect storm of conditions. Freak weather is a factor. But so are dramatic changes in the global economy, including higher oil prices, lower food reserves and growing consumer demand in China and India. —NBC News online, March 24th, 2008
The Collapse of Bablyon
Stock market brokers responding to turmoil
THE COLLAPSE OF THE ORDER
As I drove through the United States two years ago on a concert tour, I marveled at the quality of living I witnessed in nearly every state, from the caliber of the roads, to the abundance of material wealth. But I was taken aback by the words I heard in my heart:
It is an illusion, a lifestyle which has been borrowed.
I was left with the sense that it was all about to come crashing down.
She Gave Birth to a Son
Baby Brad in his big brother’s arms
SHE did it! My bride gave birth to our eighth child, and fifth son: Bradley Gabriel Mallett. The little duffer weighed in at 9 pounds and 3 ounces. He’s the spitting image of his older sister Denise when she was born. Everyone’s very excited, very amazed at the blessing which came home last night. Both Lea and I thank you for your letters and prayers!
Revelation 11:19
"Be Not Afraid", by Tommy Christopher Canning
This writing was placed on my heart last night… the woman clothed with the sun appearing in our times, labouring, about to give birth. What I didn’t know was that this morning, my wife was going into labour! I will let you know the outcome…
There is much on my heart these days, but the battle is very thick, and writing has been as easy as jogging in a neck-high swamp. The winds of change are blowing hard, and this writing, I believe, may explain why… Peace be with you! Let us hold one another in prayer that in these times of change, we will shine with the holiness proper to our calling as sons and daughters of a victorious and humble King!
First published July 19th, 2007…
Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. (Rev 11:19)
THE sign of this ark of the covenant appears before a great battle between the dragon and the Church, that is, a persecution. This ark, and the symbolism it carries, is all part of that "sign."
The Desert of Temptation
I KNOW many of you—according to your letters—are going through tremendous battles right now. This seems consistent with just about anyone I know who is striving for holiness. I think it is a good sign, a sign of the times… the dragon, thrashing his tail at the Woman-Church as the final confrontation enters its most pivotal moments. Although this was written for Lent, the meditation below is likely as pertinent now as it was then… if not more.
First published February 11th, 2008:
I want to share with you a portion of a letter I just received:
I’ve been feeling destroyed over recent weaknesses… Things have been going great and I was excited with joy in my heart for Lent. And then as soon as Lent began, I felt unworthy and undeserving to be in any relationship with Christ. I fell into sin and then self-hatred set in. I was feeling that I might as well do nothing for Lent because I am a hypocrite. I drove up our driveway and was feeling this emptiness…