The Book of Ecclesiastes says there is a time to die and a time to live.  If Easter is a time of resurrected life, then Lent is a time of death to sin. What sins must be put to death in us, if the resurrected life of Jesus is to bear new life in us?

Many times when we go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we rattle off our grocery list of sins. What is missing? Two things! We have not identified the root of our sins and we don't have a spiritual game plan to begin to overcome our sins.

It is like the person who has weeds in his yard and his mode of operation is to mow them down every week. He doesn't get rid of the weeds, only exasperates himself. He needs to attack the core of the weed.

Have we identified the core of our sins? Do we have a spiritual game plan that is concrete and attainable in uprooting these sins? This is the grace we need to ask for before Lent and the action we need to embark on during Lent.