Lent - The Devil Waits - We Must Finish The Work!
The prayer on Ash Wednesday, to initiate Lent, is the initiation of a spiritual war: Grant us, O Lord, to begin with holy fasts the campaign of our Christian warfare: that, as we do battle with the spirits of evil, we may be protected by the help of self-denial. Through Christ our Lord. Amen You can imagine that two things are happening together at Lent: Satan sees that we wish to follow the Master, and he seeks to stop us Satan sees his "more opportune time" [Luke 4:13] to come against us and the Lord When we humble ourselves before the Church's call to kneel and receive the sacred ashes as the sign of our impending death to this world, Satan sees the stirring of a more serious devotion in our souls. Thus, he is ready to come against us with more fury and craftiness. The Church knows this, which is why Lent begins with such a solemn liturgy and ashes mightily blessed to protect us with contrition, grace, and forgiveness. < See my article on blessed ashes here &
