Divine Intimacy - Lenten Meditations for 2026 - Day 11

A hard headline at dawn and a holy invitation at hand: we step into Ember Saturday with fasting, prayer, and a clear-eyed look at how grace meets a restless world. We keep the focus tight—covenant fidelity in Deuteronomy, the lived texture of Christian charity in First Thessalonians, and the mountain light of Matthew’s Transfiguration—then move into a grounded guide on confession that trades clichés for clarity.

We talk about why frequent confession should never become just a routine, how absolution is Christ acting in the soul, and why naming motives behind venial patterns exposes the roots of anger, pride, and acedia. You’ll hear practical steps for a better examen, what to share when you’re not confessing mortal sin, and when to book an appointment so those in crisis aren’t left waiting. Along the way, we hold together two anchors of Lent: intimacy with God through honest repentance and solidarity with others through fasting and intercession.

The thread tying it all together is simple and demanding: hear him. The Father’s command on the mountain becomes the plan for the week—listen to Christ in Scripture, in conscience, and in the quiet of the confessional. Let the Precious Blood wash the past and brace the future. Make space for family, keep Ember Saturday with abstinence, and pray for peace, priests, and vocations while the world trembles. If you’re ready for a Lent that actually reshapes your habits and steadies your heart, this conversation will give you both vision and tools.

If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so others can find the show. What one practice will you keep today to ground your heart in Christ?

Transcript

Ember Saturday And A World At War

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to uh welcome to day eleven of Lent, all otherwise known as the uh first day of the uh Iran, the new Iran war. That was fun to wake up to 15 minutes ago. Um yeah, so today's day eleven of Lent. We are on Ember Saturday here. Great day to offer prayer and penance uh for peace. Um perfect day for it. Every day is perfect for it, but an Ember Saturday, especially. Uh so if you're unfamiliar with Ember Days, read up on them. I highly suggest going over to Fischeaters.com, doing a search for Ember Days and reading what they're all about. Uh their long tradition in the church that, of course, was killed and destroyed by the modernists in the 60s and 70s. But, anyways, uh, don't eat meat today, fast today, pray today, especially for priest and religious and vocations. And um, we're gonna get into our readings here. Today's uh Mass in the 1962 Missal has five lessons, an epistle, and then the gospel. Five lessons that for those of you not familiar with the traditional mass, that's five readings from the old testament, an epistle, uh, and then the gospel. You're gonna have to forgive me because in the missile it also says for a short form of the mass, basically only do the first lesson and then skip to the epistle. That's what we're gonna do today. We're gonna skip four of those lessons. Um, if you want to read them, you know, just look up they're in the 62 missile for today. Um, it's a Saturday, and I'd like to spend as much time with my kids and family as possible. So I'm gonna skip those four since the missile says I can. And we're gonna read just with the first lesson, the epistle, the gospel, and then we'll get into divine intimacy for the day. So without further ado, I'm gonna throw up an image on screen, and we're gonna start with the first lesson for today's mass.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Okay, first lesson. Comes from Deuteronomy 26 verses 12 through 19.

Readings Plan And Family Priority

SPEAKER_00 3:19

In those days Moses spoke to the people, saying, When thou hast made an end to tithing all thy fruits, thou shalt speak thus in the sight of the Lord thy God. I have taken that which was sanctified out of my house, and I have given it to the Levite, and to the stranger and to the fatherless, and to the widow, as thou hast commanded me. I have not tried transgressed thy commandments, nor forgot forgotten thy precepts. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done all things as thou hast commanded me. Look from thy sanctuary and thy high habitation of heaven, and bless thy people Israel, in the land which thou hast given us, as thou didst swear to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these commandments and judgments, and to keep and fulfill them with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Thou hast chosen the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways and keep his ceremonies and precepts and judgments, and obey his command. The Lord hath chosen thee this day to be his particular people, as he hath spoken to thee, and to keep all his commandments, and to make thee higher than all nations, which he hath created to his own praise in name and glory, that thou mayst be a holy people of the Lord thy God as he hath spoken. Okay, and now the epistle for today's mass comes from first Thessalonians five, fourteen through twenty three. Brethren, we beseech you, rebuke the unquiet, comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil see that none render evil for evil to any man, but ever follow that which is good towards each other and towards all men. Always rejoice, pray without ceasing, in all things give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all. Extinguish not the spirit, despise not prophecies, but prove all things. Hold fast that which is good, from all appearance of evil refrain yourselves, and may the God of peace him may the God of peace himself sanctify you in all things, that your whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Okay, and we'll move on to today's gospel. Okay, give me a second here.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

Then another part of the missile. Let me get to it. Okay, here we go. The gospel for today's mass is Matthew 17, one through nine. At that time Jesus took Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, and he was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with him. And Peter answering said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If thou wilt let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee and one for Moses, and one for Elias. And as he was speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them, and lo a voice out of the cloud saying, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. And the disciples hearing fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said to them, Arise and fear not. Then they lifting up their eyes saw no one but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man till the Son of Man be risen from the dead. Okay. Those are our mass readings for the day. We're switching over to divine intimacy now.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Okay. Confession. The presence of God.

Epistle From First Thessalonians

The Transfiguration In Matthew

Switching To Divine Intimacy

SPEAKER_00 7:58

At the foot of your cross, O Jesus, I confess my sins. Pour over me your precious blood that it may purify my soul. Meditation one. If mortal sin only is the necessary matter of the sacrament, venial sin is sufficient matter, since all Catholic tradition insists on frequent confession, even when one only has only venial sins to confess. However, those who confess weakly must take great care lest their confessions become a mere routine, instead of the really vital acts which would enable these souls to profit fully from all the graces offered by the sacramento. Do not despise the blood of Christ, exclaims Saint Catherine of Siena. Certainly, anyone who appreciates it will not approach the sacrament of penance lightly. To this end, it is useful to recall that absolution is truly the pouring forth of the precious blood, which inundating and penetrating the soul, purifies it from sin and restores sanctifying grace if it has been lost, or increases this gift if it is already present in the soul. The remission of sin and the imparting of grace are the fruits of the action of Jesus, expressed by the formula the priest pronounces in his name, I absolve thee. At that moment it is Jesus who is acting in the soul, either by remitting sin or by producing or increasing grace. It is well to remember that the efficacy of the absolution is not limited merely to sins that have already been committed, but that it even extends into the future. By means of the particular sacramental grace, the soul is strengthened beforehand against relapses, and it is offered the fortitude to resist temptations and to carry out its good resolutions. The blood of Christ is, in this sense, not only a remedy for the past, but also a preservative and a strengthening help for the future. The soul which plunges into it as a healthful bath, draws from it new vigor and sees the strength of its passions extinguished little by little. We see then the importance of frequent confession, for a soul desirous of union with God, a soul which must necessarily aspire to total purification. Meditation two When the soul in the tribunal of penance has only venial sins to confess, it is not necessary that it preoccupy itself with confessing all of them, either as to their number or their kind. This completeness is necessary only when there is question of mortal sin. In other cases, however, it is much more profitable to fix the attention on deliberate faults first, than on those which are semi-deliberate, even if they are only simple imperfections, telling not only the faults themselves but also the motives behind them. Although this method is not required for the validity of the confession, it is certain that the soul will draw much profit from it since the accusation will have exposed the root of the evil. The soul will benefit too by its act of humility, which will be a stimulus to deeper repentance and will arouse in it a more ardent desire to amend its life. For this is the logical result of considering the motives, usually not noble ones, from which our faults arise. Furthermore, an accusation of this kind helps the confessor to have a better knowledge of the penitent's weak points, and to suggest the most suitable remedies, a matter of special importance when direction is given with confession. In addition to its accusation accusation, the soul must also occupy itself with sorrow for its sins because they offend God, who is infinite goodness. This should be a sorrow ex amore, springing from love, the repentance of the child who is more discon disconsolate, disconsolate, over the displeasure given to a father who loves it so much and to whom it should return love for love, than over the thought of its guilt and the punishment it deserves. For the validity of the sacrament, sorrow is necessary. If it is lacking, the absolution will be null. However, the more perfect the contrition, the more effectively will the absolution erase not only the sin, but also the temporal punishment which it has incurred. The blood of Jesus will purify, renew, and enrich the heart of the penitent with fortitude, charity, and grace in the measure of his contrition. And now the colloquy. Sweet Jesus, in order to clothe us against in order to clothe us again with the life of grace, you stripped yourself of the life of your body. The body which you stretched on the wood of the Holy Cross is like a lamb which has been sacrificed, and which is shedding its blood from every part of its body. In your blood you have created us anew to the life of grace. Sweet Jesus, my soul ardently desires to be bathed and entirely submerged in your blood, since in your blood I find the source of all mercy. In your blood are clemency, fire, piety. In your blood mercy abounds for our faults. In your blood justice is satisfied and our hardness is melted. What is bitter becomes sweet and what is heavy becomes light. And since all virtues reach maturity in your blood, O Christ, inebriate my soul, engulf it in your blood, so that it will be adorned with real and solid virtues. O Jesus, if just one drop of your precious blood has the power to wipe out all the crimes of the world, what will it not do to me? What will it not do in me when you pour it so abundantly over my poor soul at the moment of absolution? O Jesus, revive my faith and give me a complete understanding of the immense value of the sacrament of your blood. Only your blood can wash away my sins, purify the stains of my soul, and heal and vivify it. O grant that this salutary bath may cleanse my whole being and restore it entirely to your grace and love. Through the merits of your passion, grant, O Lord, that I may always bring in to the tribunal of penance a truly humble and contrite heart, an increasingly perfect sorrow for my faults, and a deeper and more sincere horror of anything that offends you, my God. Only if it finds no attachment to sin in me will your precious blood be able to penetrate the depths of my soul, renew it, and vivify it wholly. O Jesus, grant that your precious blood may bear its full fruit in me.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

Okay.

Confession: Grace, Habit, And Depth

Naming Motives And True Contrition

SPEAKER_00 15:34

There are our mass readings and meditations from divine intimacy for today. Um let's see here. Uh so here in that second meditation it says Um It is much more profitable to fix the attention on deliberate faults first than on those which are semi-deliberate, even if they are only simple imperfections, telling not only the faults themselves, but also the motives behind them. Um although the this method is not required for validity of the confession, it is certain that the soul will draw much profit from it since the accusation will have exposed the root of the evil. Um accusation of this kind helps the confessor to have better knowledge of the penitent's weak points and to suggest the most suitable remedies a matter of special importance when direction is given with confession. Okay. Now, women, especially middle-aged to older. If any of you are listening, Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene was not saying you should take half an hour in confession. That is not what he was saying there, just to be clear. Okay. I'm I'm mostly joking. That's a joke. That's a that's that's a joke that Anthony would make. I I apologize. Um anyways, uh confession. Um I like how uh so this was written, I think, put together back in the 50s. I think. Let me take a look here. I want to say it was in the 50s. 1953. And back in the 50s, as from what he wrote there, you can see that it was pretty common for people to go to weekly confession. And that it was so common that he was cautioning those who go to frequent confession, weekly confession or more even. Um, he was cautioning that people should um make sure that it it doesn't just become routine. That it's taken, you know, um completely seriously each time that you do a full examination of penance. Um really root out your your mortal, venial, mortal and venial sins and your imperfections, um, and really take time with it. And um that's clearly still suggesting frequent confessions, but it you can see how how much things have changed when he took more time to caution against um making light of confession because you go so often, than he cautioned against uh people not going at all, which is obviously clearly the larger issue today. Um now his his uh the meditations still are very valuable today in terms of how to make a good confession and and what is necessary, but it is um, I just always find it interesting when you can clearly see how things have changed through just um the assumptions that those writing in earlier times make about those who are reading it. You know, he uh he you know, Father Father Gabriel, um he couldn't have foreseen that those reading his work 70 years later, um for the most part wouldn't need to worry about what happens when you go to confession weekly or more. You know, those reading it 70 years later need to worry about how to actually just make a confession because they're have done it so rarely in their lives that they don't know how. Now, I would imagine most of those, um most of you listening to these or watching these are not in that camp. Um I would imagine most of you probably are more in the camp of making much more frequent confessions. So, like I said, this these meditations are are still good, still very valuable. But um but I would say if you are going if if you're going to confession, um you know, more as a devotional and and not so much out of strict necessity for like mortal sin, right? Um if you're going to uh to help root out your imperfections, um for the most part, I would say uh try to make an appointment for confession for that reason. Um because uh as as he says here, you know, it's good to to when you're doing venial sins and imperfections to not only do just number and kind like you do with with mortal, but you know, try to get to the motives, the roots behind those, to really um, you know, in that way the priest can give you better direction, right? So if you're if you're going to confession for that reason and for more spiritual direction, make an appointment because generally, and this is gonna vary depending on what's what what how your parish is. But in my experience, your average Catholic parish, which you know tends to be Novus Ordo, obviously has what, an hour set aside for confessions on a Saturday afternoon. Now, that means either that that parish has a line the whole time and never gets through everyone, or it means that there's absolutely no one that goes to confession during that hour. If your parish is that second type, where it's has confession for an hour and there's no one there anyways, then sure, get there at the beginning of the hour. And if your confession takes 20 minutes, you know, no big deal. But if um if there's a line, you know, and stuff like that, uh, try to make an appointment because when um when confession isn't available widely, you know, it needs to be available to those that are coming to it out of necessity for mortal sin. So if you're like I said, if you're gonna use confession to root out those imperfections, um try to make an appointment for that if you can.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

Um yeah, that's what I have for today.

Colloquy On The Precious Blood

SPEAKER_00 23:17

It's a Saturday, so I'm gonna go uh wake up the kids and um spend a lot of time with them. Uh but like I said, it is Ember Saturday, so please fast. Please abstain from meat. Uh please pray for um for your priests and religious. But uh today, especially also pray for peace. Play uh pray for peace um and for as little little death as is possible in this new war. But anyways, thank you all for watching and listening, and I will see you again tomorrow for the second Sunday of Lent.