Whether you’re proud of your Lent sacrifices and progress or disapointed over unmet goals in prayer and commitments, we’ve got some insights on that familiar “post-Lent guilt” feeling.
Some of us eagerly anticipate the end of our fasts. Others rejoice in the culmination of Lent, satisfied with their fasting, prayer, and almsgiving efforts. However, many of us may be feeling a sense of guilt for not accomplishing what we set out to do. We might also feel disappointment in ourselves, as if we’ve wasted an opportunity to grow and sacrifice.
If you’re struggling with post-Lent guilt, St. Therese, known as the Saint of Mercy, offers insights to uplift. Drawing from Fr. Jean D’Elbee’s book, “I Believe In Love,” which delves into St. Therese’s spirituality, there are three reflections that highlight God’s mercy and offer a fresh perspective on processing your post-Lent guilt.
Smallness + Confidence = the Key to Jesus’ Heart
When we fail, fall short of our own expectations, or miss the spiritual goals we strive for, we often feel tempted to perceive ourselves as less worthy of God’s love. We feel like we have to prove or re-prove our worth to Him to be in His good graces again.
While we shouldn’t ignore that we may have failed, the attitude of how we view that failure changes everything. Failures can serve as reminders of our weakness, prompting us to recognize our smallness in moments of weakness. In our smallness, we can lift our eyes to Jesus, like that of a child, confident in a Father’s love, and ask for forgiveness. When we look to Him like this, His Heart is vanquished. St. Therese says that it’s because of our smallness that Jesus is even more inclined to shower His mercy on us:
“I feel that if (though this would be impossible) You were to find a soul more weak and little than mine, You would be pleased to shower upon it even greater favors, if it abandoned itself to You with complete confidence in Your infinite mercy.” (Manuscrits Autobiographiques, 237)
Belief That You Are a Joy for Jesus
We can easily fall into the thinking that Jesus solely leads with justice–that with every mistake, every lack of self-control, and every sign of weakness, Jesus is just waiting to reproach us with His right hand. Yet, we frequently overlook the fact that Jesus finds joy in our efforts to try.
While He will not allow us to settle for our current state, He will always rejoice in our efforts. Considering this, we can reflect on if we truly believe He delights in us and awaits our return to Him, again and again. Accepting this belief and remembering it allows us to receive his mercy. St. Therese reminds us:
“Is it not a matter of the most elementary logic that a father and his child should be a joy for one another?… There are persons who are baptized…who pass their whole lives on earth without ever having experienced this heart-to-heart relationship with their Father in Heaven, their Creator and Savior, in the happiness which comes from being a joy for one another.” (I Believe in Love, 22)
Nothing Can Separate Us From the Love of God, Not Even Guilt
The last and most important insight to remember is that we can’t let our weaknesses and guilt control our minds. If we do, we’ll build a massive wall between ourselves and Jesus Christ. Unaware, we distance ourselves from the one who grants us strength to conquer weaknesses and failures.
Even after confessing our sins, if we allow them to create a barrier between us and Him, we lose. We have to let this one reality consume us: union with Jesus is everything.
We know that our sins wound our relationship with Him. We know that He is always calling us out of ourselves to a deeper union with Him. But He never wants our constant failures to make us feel far away from Him. As St. Therese says:
“Do not go looking for [your sins] at the bottom of the sea! He has wiped them out; He has forgotten them. His Blood has been shed; the flames of His mercy have done their work.” (I Believe in Love, 13)
So when Lent has passed, don’t let guilt hinder your Easter celebration. It’s not just about you celebrating Him; it’s about Him celebrating you too.
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