Mercy

"For God had given us the Law through Moses, but Truth and Loving-kindness came through Jesus Christ." - John 1:17

All of my life, I have followed the correct path. I hardly ever gave my parents any trouble. I was the teacher's pet and have always been called the goody goody by those who know me. Because of this, I painfully confess, I have often judged others because they weren't like me. I wouldn't admit it then, but now I realize I thought myself better. All this time I have been really good at following the law, doing what's right and staying away from bad. But my heart had been in being proud of myself for being right, while true goodness from the heart was lacking.

God has given us His law, but each of us knows the difference between right and wrong. What about mercy? Mercy is an undeserved gift from God. That is what Jesus brought to us with His life, death, and resurrection. True love and kindness have been given to us by Jesus. That means that because He loves us, not because we have been good, and even when we've been bad, Jesus forgives us without merit. He washes away sin. He washes away guilt. He washes away any pain we carry in the heart. It really doesn't matter what we've done in the past. God doesn't look at us like I would have in the past. If you weren't "good' like me, I would have thought less of you. But not God. The further you feel from Him, the more He wants to hold you, embrace you, keep you safe in His arms. He doesn't seek our righteousness but our mercy… that we love others in this way. That we see that we all come from the same Father. This way, no one can ever feel better than anyone else since all we have is because God has been loving and merciful, and has blessed us.

Please, don't make the same mistake I've made if you feel this speaks to you as well. Ask Jesus to bless you with His mercy. We are all flawed and have all sinned, yet the Lord loves us despite of all these things. Abandon yourself in His mercy and share it with others.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, as imperfect as I am, with all my bad thoughts, deeds, and attitude, you still choose to love me and walk with me. I could never deserve you, but please change my heart. Humble me and make me pliable. Work through me and show me Your perfection. In Your Name we pray, amen.

God's Mercy

"I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live." - Ezekiel 33:11

Today's Old Testament reading was about a beautiful woman who was falsely accused of adultery by two elders and almost put to death if God had not helped her. Paralleling this story in the New Testament, we hear the account of the adulterous woman brought before Jesus to be stoned. Here is where Jesus says those famous words - let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Susanna, the woman in the first story, was innocent and God spared her life because of His faithfulness. The adulterous woman brought before Jesus was indeed guilt, and God spared her life because of His faithfulness. This should teach each of us a very valuable lesson: God does not want to see any of us die or be humiliated; He wants us to convert and live prosperously. Jesus said to the adulterous woman, go and sin no more… therefore, before the eyes of God, we are as valuable as Susanna if we resolve to turn from our sin and follow God.

Another lesson in these stories is that we need to be as merciful to others as God is with us. How many of us would rush to convict the adulterous woman because she committed a sin? Forgetting anything we ourselves have done, we bring judgement upon others as if we were completely blameless. God, who is all good and wise, does not treat His people with vengeance, although we might very well deserve it, so we should learn to treat others, in all respects, as children of the Lord.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I am so evil at times and judge harshly those around me. Forgive me Lord and give me a generous, compassionate heart so that I can treat all others with the love you have for me. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Stumble and Get Back Up

"For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of calamity." - Proverbs 24:16

I know what it feels like to let God down. To one day feel like you're so close and you're on the right path… and then the next you've stumbled and it hurts. You fell down and committed the sin you swore you weren't going to. Maybe it's an addiction you're fighting. Maybe it's the way you're treating someone. Whatever it is… it's separating you from God and that guilt, that shame is tearing you up inside. One day you feel worthy of the Lord and the next you convince yourself you shouldn't even go to church on Sunday.

There's good news here and it's that you're human. Jesus fully understands those painful weaknesses and that's why He came to save us. This verse in Proverbs is amazing… the just man falls seven times… if you saw someone make a mistake seven times, you would brush them off, wouldn't you? God doesn't. To God, the only thing that matters is that we get back up. You can sin one hundred times in a day and if by the end of the day, you turn back and try again for God, in His eyes you are just. The only thing that separates the wicked from the just is that the wicked stay down and give up.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your unconditional love and mercy. I thank You that You don't judge us as harshly as we judge ourselves sometimes. Whenever I stumble, and You know I do often, please be there to lift me back up. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Accepting Ourselves

"But because you are almighty, you are merciful to all; you overlook sins and give your children time to repent. You love everything that exists and hate nothing that you have made; had you hated anything, you would not have formed it. How could anything endure if you did not will it? And how could anything last that you had not willed? You have compassion on all because all is yours, O Lord, lover of life." - Wisdom 11:23-26

I was of the mind that God is so holy and we are always lacking in faithfulness, therefore are always sinning. I wondered to myself who would ever be pure enough to really walk with Jesus. I wondered what God thought of me and all the sins I commit time after time, and I would feel bad, so guilty before the Lord. Not at all worthy to even keep following Him. This verse was part of today's reading in mass and I felt God speak to me through it. It's one of the most beautiful things I have ever read in the bible. It tells us that beyond everything, even our wickedness, the Lord is good, kind, merciful, loving, and He waits for us to return to Him, with patience and understanding. For all the times I would feel such guilt before Him, like I am not worthy of Him, this verse tells us that He created us and sees us for what we are. The good and the bad, and He still loves us regardless. And if He didn't see good and love in who we are right now, as evil as we can be, He wouldn't allow us to keep existing because He loves what He creates and destroys that which He hates. We tend to be harder on ourselves and judge ourselves more severely than God Himself. I guess it's His will for me to be the sinner that I am now and that it's all part of His plan. But regardless, even if we're saints or sinners, His love is bigger than anything we've done or can do.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, thank You for loving me and accepting me as I am. I am Your beloved child, and as I am, You have called me and love me. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Make Peace Before Forgiveness

"So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God." - Matthew 5:23-24

Before Jesus' death, the Jews would sacrifice a lamb or a calf at the temple for the forgiveness of sins. Now, when Jesus came, He radically changed the way the law was practiced because He wanted us to have the law in our heart, instead of just as commandments to follow so that we learn what it really means to follow and love God each day. In His famous Sermon on the Mount, in which He tells us how He wants us to live, He talks about forgiveness and how we need to truly give ourselves up to being open to loving one another. More than just forgiving those that have hurt us, He goes a step further in saying that if you are going to ask God for forgiveness of a sin and you remember that someone has something against you, whether justified or not, whether they forgive you or not, you need to put your sacrifice down and go make peace with that person. Your sacrifice, or your act of asking God forgiveness for your own sins, means nothing to God if at first you do not make amends with those who you have hurt or have hurt you. For us this is a very difficult thing to do, but not impossible. Our God is a just God and justice demands that we forgive and be forgiven if we are to ask mercy of God for our own sins against Him. So if you really want to be in good standing with the Lord in terms of your own faults, then make peace with your neighbors first.

Today's Prayer:
God, it's not easy for me to admit guilt, ask forgiveness, and especially forgive someone who has hurt me, betrayed me and let me down continually. But I trust in You, my Lord, and I know that Your ways are the right ways, so please guide me and help me to do Your will because You know that I can't find it in me at times. In Your Name we pray, Amen.