"Lent is the time to start breathing again. It is the time to open our hearts to the breath of the One capable of turning our dust into humanity. It is not the time to rend our garments before the evil all around us, but instead to make room in our life for all the good we are able to do. It is a time to set aside everything that isolates us, encloses us and paralyzes us. Lent is a time of compassion." (Pope Francis) We have breathed the polluted air of sin too long. The fresh oxygen of God's divine life is offered us once more. Yes we have sinned. But Lent is not so much as a time to beat our breasts as it is of consciously confronting the very roots of our sins. It is a time to be pro-active, seeking to grow in virtue rather than live in vice. As God has shown us mercy through his unconditional forgiveness, so we are to reflect his mercy by unconditional forgiveness of all who hurt us in any way. The vice is refusing to forgive; the virtue is forgiving without waiting for the other to ask. Thus, we will breathe in the new air of God's life.