Lent's Call

We have just entered the season of Lent; Ash Wednesday and the first Sunday are past.
Here is an excerpt from my journal without any background to it.
"It will be okay. Do what I can. Remember that I do not earn God's love or favor. I can seek to grow in knowledge and understanding of God and the Christian life. But the amount of knowledge or understanding will not increase or decrease God's love for me. God is steadfast, consistent, dependable. In Jesus nothing can separate me from God's love. I struggle with my sin ridden and scarred life. There are parts of my history which I detest. There is pain in my soul for the sins and wrongs I have committed against others. My sins are ever before me though God has removed them from God's sight. Jesus began his ministry saying, "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news." (Mark 1:14-15) Yes, I repent and believe. God's good news is in my life and I want to live it and share it. The struggle within continues for me but also I know divine joy and peace. I know the split personality should not be and yet it is what it is. As we sing in church, "Lord, have mercy on me."

The Church [and her members], then both washes the feet of Christ and wipes them with her hair, and anoints them with oil and pours ointment upon them, because not only does she care for the wounded and cherish the weary, but also sprinkles them with the sweet odour of grace; and pours forth the same grace not only on the rich and powerful, but also on men of lowly estate. She weighs all with equal balance, gathers all in the same bosom, and cherishes them in the same lap. Christ died once, and was buried once, and nevertheless He wills that ointment should daily be poured on his feet. What then are those feet of Christ on which we pour ointment? The feet of Christ are they of whom He Himself says, "What ye have done to one of the least of these ye have done to me."
[from Letter 41 by Saint Ambrose]

I read somewhere in a blog that if one were to read Calvin's Institutes 15 minutes a day you could get through them in a year. So it is what I have started to do. Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion is a two volume work which I kept when I got rid of most on my ministerial library upon retirement thinking I would like to read through it sometime. It looks like the time has come.