Tenth Saturday of Ordinary Time

The Lord is kind and merciful. He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion.

It is truly humbling to consider how much God has forgiven us. Think about all of our imperfections, failures, trespasses, and sins. Think about what we have done wrong in this life and all the goods we have failed to do. And yet, God continues to love and forgive us. He pardons us of our iniquities and heals us of our ills. He redeems us from destruction and offers us everlasting life. He crowns us with kindness and compassion as a show of what we are called to do as Christians. Truly, He is kind and merciful and all He asks of us is to be kind and merciful to others and to love Him as He loves us.

Have we thanked God for being so kind and merciful to us? Are we kind and merciful to others like God is to us? What can we do to show our desire to be pardoned, healed, and redeemed?

O Lord, pardon our iniquities and redeem us.

Amen.

Second Saturday of Lent

The Lord is kind and merciful. He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion.

How fortunate for us that we have such a kind and merciful God! Just imagine how we might feel in His place when we see so many of our children turning their backs on us for various reasons. Imagine being betrayed by those whom we love. Imagine being taken for granted and ignored by the people we care about. Would we be as patient, loving, and forgiving as God? And yet, God pardons all our iniquities. He heals us of our ills. He redeems us from destruction. He even crowns us with kindness and compassion. Yes, we are blessed to have such a good God on our side.

Are we as kind and merciful as God is to us? Are we willing to pardon those who trespass against us? How do we repay God for all the kindness and compassion He has shown us?

O Lord, you are kind and merciful.

Amen.

Sixteenth Tuesday in Ordinary Time

Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, And will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins; You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham, As you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.

God is a forgiving Father, willing to always take us back into His good graces. He is a merciful Son, willing to show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is a compassionate Spirit, willing to inspire and guide us along the path to holiness. If we turn to Him and ask His forgiveness, He will remove our guilt, pardon us, and cleanse us of our sins. He will always be faithful to us, if we are willing to be faithful to Him.

Do we seek God's Forgiveness for our failings, faults, and sins? Are we as forgiving of others as God is of us? How can we model our lives upon the compassion of God?

O Lord, help us to reflect your compassion to the whole world.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

“If I find favor with you, O LORD, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own.” So Moses stayed there with the LORD for forty days and forty nights, without eating any food or drinking any water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

We are a stiff-necked people, too. We have imperfections that we do not seek to rid ourselves of. We have wickedness and sins we constantly fall into. We fail to do good when opportunities present themselves. We fall short in our faith. We falter in our hope. We lack in our love of God and others. And yet, God is still with us, He still loves us, He is willing to pardon our wickedness and receive us as His Own Children. He wants to be our Heavenly Father, Beloved Brother, and Holy Spirit, writing His commandments, teachings, and inspirations upon our hearts. All we have to do is accept Him into our lives by bending our stiff necks and dying to our sinful selves so we can rise as holy and unique incarnations of Christ.

 What are the imperfections, wickedness, and sins we need to be pardoned for? How can we rid ourselves of these failings and become more perfect children of God? What can we do to ensure that God’s commandments, teachings, and inspirations stay with us always?

O Lord, come along in our company and receive us as your own.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest

Moses stood there with the LORD and proclaimed his name, "LORD." Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out, "The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but punishing children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for their fathers' wickedness!" Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.

God is willing to accompany us on our life journeys even when we are not perfect. He is willing to pardon us and receive us as His own children. He knows we are not guiltless and yet He loves us nonetheless. He wants to be with us, always, and we should want Him with us, too. We should start each day bowing to God and asking Him, like Moses, to come along in our company. And if we do this, we shall find Him in our midst wherever we go and whenever we most need.

Do we invite God to be with us every day? How can we become better people? Are we willing to pardon others as God pardons us?

O Lord, pardon us and receive us as your own.

Amen.