Lenten Meditation - March 10, 2006

Whoever wishes to lead a truly Christian life must first exert his will, and so regulate his existence as to put the most important things foremost. I think that nothing is more important in the use of our days than the time given first of all to God. It may be very short, as a few minutes are enough every morning for us to offer up our thoughts, deeds, and words, and all that wealth of sufferings which becomes daily a source of grace to the souls on whose behalf we offer it. Five minutes spent in this way, and the indulgences of the day devoted to the souls in Purgatory, from a preparation for much good that will be accomplished subsequently unknown to you. Add to this ten minutes or a quarter of an hour devoted to reading and meditating upon some passage, and your morning and night prayers, and all together they do not amount to one hour given to God out of the twenty-four. Is this really too much to ask of so good a Christian as yourself?

- Elisabeth Leseur (1866-1914)- From The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur, from a letter to her mother