As we approach the season of Lent, Holy Mother Church prepares us for the penitential effort this time of the liturgical year demands. This is not a negative. Penance is not just a burden or a pain we must endure, but an opportunity to grow in virtue. Moreover, by detaching ourselves from the world, we are given an opportunity to draw closer to God.

Sloth is a voluntary and repugnant repudiation to effort. It is a vice that encroaches upon every aspect of our lives. If we give in to it, we risk losing our connection with God and thus imperil our salvation.

God’s love for us as friends is a great gift. Yet how is it possible for us, as mere humans, to be friends with God? But as St. Thomas Aquinas points out, the union between God and man arises from charity. For as God loves us, so are we called to love God–and it is in this mutuality that friendship lies.

According to the Church’s rubrics, the Candlemas candles can only be blessed if they will be lit and carried in procession. In this way, these candles are a symbol of the light we, as Catholics, must carry out into the world as a sign of our life in Christ in a state of sanctifying grace.

If an all-good God exists, why is there evil in the world? This objection has been used by persons from ancient times to modern days as a basis to reject Christianity. The answer to this objection is that evil does not come from God, but from creatures. What this means concretely and how it relates to man’s free will is the subject of this sermon.

The Feast of the Purification commemorates the offering of Our Lord as a sacrifice to God the Father. In the Catholic Church, when a young man offers himself as a cleric, he imitates the offering of Our Lord and accepts God as His only reward. And it is in this offering of self that a cleric finds meaning in his life, one that is lived for God, whom he loves.

The mystery of presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple expresses to us the reality of Christ as the true Light of the world. Our mission, as followers of Christ, is also to be a light in the darkness. The blessed candles that are given to the faithful on this day, express each Christian’s mission to be a light that draws souls to God, guides souls to God, by our faith and by our charity.

The miracle of Our Lord calming the tempest on the waters is an allegory for how he calms the tempest in our souls. Like the apostles of old, we are buffeted by turmoil and temptations. And like them, we must reach out to God, knowing always that our lives and salvation depend upon Him.

To no man should we render evil for evil, even the “enemy of the hour,” that person who may momentarily vex or wrong us in some way. It could be a neighbor, a friend, or even a family member. Instead of contemplating revenge or relishing in the pain of our “enemy,” Our Lord calls us to show charity and therefore manifest His love in the world.

What has God given to us? Everything–and that is why we must acknowledge and give thanks for Our Lord’s gifts. We must never forget that God owes us nothing; everything is a free gift of His immeasurable love for us.