| Lord, my God, in you I take refuge! (Psalm 7:2)
Reflection.
"Jesus embodies the rule of God in which no one is beyond
God's forgiveness no matter who they are or what they have done. Endowed with the presence
and power of God through baptism by John in the Jordan, Jesus comes proclaiming that the
rule of God supplants all others now. When the scribes and the Pharisees chide him for
eating with the traitorous Jewish tax collectors, Jesus responds: 'Those who are well have
no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners.' The answer to my parishioner's burning question [about divine forgiveness] was,
of course: No, you cannot be too bad to be forgiven. You can only be too good. [For
example: Too self-righteous to be humble, compassionate, or receptive to God's
spirit.]" ... Lewis B. Smedes
Lenten Fact
Tradition holds that our Blessed Mother visited daily the scenes of our Lord's
passion.
Lenten Action.
Reach out to someone who is alienated from your group.
Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to
change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardships as the pathway to peace, taking, as He,
did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that He will make all
things right. If I surrender to His Will, that I may be reasonably happy in this life and
supremely happy with him forever in the next.
Amen.
|