Therefore also now,
says the LORD,
turn you even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Read Chapter 2
Caesarius of Arles
AD 542
Our Lord and Savior exhorts us through the prophet and advises us how we ought to come to him after much negligence, saying, “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord who made us”; and again, “Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” If we notice carefully, dearest brethren, the holy days of Lent signify the life of the present world, just as Easter prefigures eternal bliss. Now just as we have a kind of sadness in Lent in order that we may rightly rejoice at Easter, so as long as we live in this world we ought to do penance in order that we may be able to receive pardon for our sins in the future and arrive at eternal joy. Each one ought to sigh over his or her own sins, shed tears and give alms in such a way that with God’s help he may always try to avoid the same faults as long as he lives. Just as there never has been, is not now and never will be a soul without slight sins, so with the help and assistance of God we ought to ...
Mourning: For moving the heart to repentance these external works are requisite, at least in will: if they be wilfully omitted, it is a sure sign that the heart is not moved. (St. Jerome) (Worthington)
“I, the angel of repentance, am telling you, Do not fear the devil. For I have been sent,” he said, “to be on the side of you who repent with your whole heart and to steady you in the faith. Put your faith in God, you who despair of your life because of your sins, you who add to your sins and make your life burdensome. Trust that if you turn to the Lord with your whole heart and do righteousness for the rest of your life, serving him uprightly in accordance with his will, he will provide a remedy for your previous failings, and you will obtain the power of mastering the devil’s snares. Do not be in the least afraid of the devil’s threats, for they are as powerless as a dead man’s sinews. Listen to me: Fear him who has power to save and to destroy. Keep all the mandates, and you will live to God.” I said to him, “Sir, I have now gained strength in all the justifications of the Lord, because you are on my side. I know that you will break down all the devil’s power and we shall have the m...
