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Lent doesn’t open with a pep talk; it starts with ashes and the hard grace of honesty. We map a clear, three-step journey that trades vague resolutions for substance: Dante’s Inferno to see sin in sharp relief, Father John Burns’ Lift Up Your Heart to walk into repentance with trust, and Thomas à Kempis’ The Imitation of Christ to practice quiet, durable holiness. Along the way, we sit with unforgettable Dante scenes that act like moral X-rays, explore why indifference is never neutral, and learn how a holy hatred of sin grows from mercy, not pride.

Then we shift from diagnosis to accompaniment. Drawing on St. Francis de Sales, Fr. Burns offers a ten-day retreat you can repeat or stretch across the season. We talk about how to handle dryness, shame, and the stumbles that usually derail good intentions, reframing repentance as a steady return rather than a flawless run. Each day ends with one small response—an honest prayer, a concrete work of mercy, a needed apology—so transformation becomes practical and repeatable.

Finally, we anchor life in the hidden path of The Imitation of Christ. Humility over spectacle. Detachment over approval. Union with Jesus, especially in the Eucharist, over restless striving. You’ll leave with a simple plan: a few cantos of Inferno each week with an examen, a short retreat reading with one action, and a one-page chapter from à Kempis with three focused questions for your next 24 hours. Start with all three, or just begin with one. Ashes clear our sight; grace carries us forward; daily fidelity makes it stick.

If this path helps you begin again, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help others find the show. What’s the first small step you’ll take today?

Key Points from the Episode:

• Lent beginning with ashes and clarity about sin
• Dante’s Inferno as moral X-ray of disordered love
• Practical weekly reading and examen prompts
• Father John Burns’ 10-day retreat as trusted guide
• Repentance as trusting return after failure
• Daily small responses: prayer, mercy, confession
• The Imitation of Christ on humility and detachment
• One chapter a day with three reflective questions
• Integrating diagnosis, accompaniment, imitation
• Start small, begin where you are, keep returning

Be sure to check out our show page at teammojocademy.com, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast as well as other great resources

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