Daily Meditation - Monday 21July 2008 - WHAT DOES "ALWAYS" MEAN?...in every situation The Lord speaks the same message

[BarbaraTherese]

Optional Memorial
Lawrence of Brindisi

Mass Readings & Meditation
Readings

Meditation

Matthew 12:38-42

Did you ever notice how,****
no matter what the situation, God always delivers the same message
of repentance and forgiveness?

• Through Jonah, he told the Ninevites to repent, and they accepted.
• Centuries later, Jesus announced his mission by proclaiming: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 4:17).

From the very beginning, God has never stopped trying to reach us with the call to turn away from sin so that we can experience his presence and power in our lives.

• Even today, Jesus is still calling to us, inviting us to repentance and to faith in him.
• Who among us doesn’t need to hear him?
• We all fail in small ways—and sometimes big ways—in our devotion to God
• and in the call to love our families, friends, and coworkers.

Yet despite our failures, Jesus is always ready to forgive us and redeem us.

When we know him for who he is—love and mercy incarnate—we are filled with a desire to be reconciled with his Father. We want nothing more than to let go of whatever sins are blocking us from his love.

The place where we*** experience Jesus’ mercy***
the most powerfully
is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

• That’s where we can receive the fullness of redemption:
• the grace to live as children of God and to love unconditionally,
• without hatred, envy, or bitterness.
• That’s where we can learn how to forgive others by receiving the forgiveness Jesus won for us.
• And that’s where we can find the greatest peace anyone can give—
• the peace that comes from knowing we have been set free from our sins and can start all over again.

If you’re feeling reluctant about this sacrament, think about how some of the greatest saints were devoted to it.

• Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II went to confession every day!
• Blessed Damien de Veuster, who was isolated from the world because he lived among lepers,
• once confessed his sins from a rowboat because he couldn’t come aboard his superior’s ship!

So don’t hesitate. Follow their example, and turn to the Lord in repentance. As always, he’s eager to heal you, to forgive you, and to restore you!

“Lord, your loving-kindness is without end! Help me always to remain in your grace. But if I should fall, let me never be afraid to seek your mercy.”