Monday of the Second Week
in Lent
The
Confession of a Man and the Compassion of God
“I prayed to the LORD, my God, and
confessed” (Daniel 9:4b )
Jesus said: "Be merciful, just as
your Father is merciful. (Luke
6:36)
The season of Lent is a time of
faith journey to repair the broken relationships with God, others and oneself,
and we have the best tool in the form of the Sacrament of Reconciliation
(Confession). The Sins, our burdens, cares and anxieties and everything of that
sort tries to knock us down and inflict an internal injury to the soul so as to
keep us away from Grace. However in Confession God offers us compassion and
forgiveness, energised by that we can continue our journey. We will not remain
stranded. (Psalm 55:22; & 1 Peter
5:7)
Today’s readings exactly take us
into depths of our imperfection and into the depths of God’s perfection. Here
we have the
perfect model of Confession.
The context was that Prophet Daniel learned
about the decree of the Lord pronounced through Prophet Jeremiah that Jerusalem
will be in ruins for seventy years. It is in this context Daniel makes a
genuine and fervent confession pleading for God’s mercy.
We too can inculcate this confession
into our lives as it manifests perfectly how one has to make honest prayer and
confession.
❖ He acknowledges the perfection of
God in his Nature
❖ He acknowledges the faithfulness of the Lord in his promises and blessings
❖ He also confesses the imperfection
of the people of israel
➔ He confesses it with true sorrow and
repentance for the failing in observing the covenant and commandments.
➔ He confesses it with genuine
humility and reverence
➔ He accepts with contrite heart that
they have gone astray
“ We
have sinned( doing all kinds of evil & impure acts), we have rebelled (strayed away from His life
giving presence), we have not obeyed
(neither the message, the eternal Word nor messengers), we are shamefaced (utterly shattered & broken)”
These words
manifest the genuine heart of a person who truly feels the need of returning to
God and portray that God is the sole
healer/repairer.
It’s an invitation for all of us, we have failed, Sinned, rebelled and disobeyed and
ashamed of our acts. However our confessions are regularly focused only
on or utter something about lies, distractions and temperament and so on. We all need mercy and forgiveness; the healing
and repairs.
It’s a time for us to confess and
convert, renew and change.
Time to be open with oneself
Time to acknowledge ourselves, where
we have failed and need of change
We must go in deeper and confess our
failed relationship with Him and others and ourselves. That’s why we need to
confess our failing in relation to others too.
Jesus states "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.
The Gospel today suggests that we
are not in a position to judge and condemn others, it is not that we have to be
blind to the mistakes but follow the path of mercy and forgiveness. But we
seldom help them to correct their ways, but we invest a lot of time in
criticising and backbiting rather than reforming them.
Take for a moment to see, our
conversations and media outlets are full of judgement and condemning even
sometimes with no evidence. we turn to blame others, and point fingers at
others' faults. Somehow we make someone a victim or scapegoat.
In our chitchats and gatherings it is all about trying to judge, condemn others and their faults. We lack compassion for our brothers and sisters.
Therefore,
●
The first reminds us
to confess to repair the relationship with God, the Father
●
The Gospel calls upon
us to repair that relationship with our brothers and sisters.
Once we open ourselves to God, His mercy is guaranteed. But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!(Daniel 9:19)
❖ But Confession is not a clearance certificate for us to condemn others
❖ but a Channel of Communication: of God’s mercy, compassion and forgiveness to others, the measure we communicate to the measure we receive in return.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he
will never permit the righteous to be moved. ((Psalm 55:22)
Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.(1 Peter 5:7)
“But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with
which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ — by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians
2:4-5)
FR. JAYARAJU MANTHENA OCD
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కామెంట్ను పోస్ట్ చేయండి