In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit, amen. My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here,

that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins

and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My immaculate Mother, St. Joseph,

my father and Lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me. Jesus, as we fix our attention on you

in the tabernacle, we humbly ask you that this traditional time of grace in preparation of your pascal mystery,

be a time of conversion, many conversions, and transformation.

We reflect on the goal of every spiritual undertaking, every spiritual effort,

the goal ultimately is to be a saint.

To be able to say with Saint Paul,

it is no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me.

In the presence of Jesus, who lives in me.

In the presence of Jesus, we ask you, Lord, what do you want me to do in terms of

myself, making sacrifices, in a certain sense, imposing the cross upon

myself, not out of a sense of stoicism, or a test of how strong my will is,

or even a sense of toughening myself up.

If the goal isn't union with Christ and participating in his very everlasting life that takes the form of joy.

Let's call the whole thing off and party and have a good time in this life.

As I superficially summarize St. Paul when he said

if there's no resurrection,

I'm going to eat and drink and be

married. Because imposing

asceticism for

...