“O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers, for having sinned against you. But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!”
One of the things I love about the Catholic faith is knowing that I do not have to be perfect, because I have a perfect Savior. The awareness of knowing that I am a sinner is overshadowed by the knowledge that I am a saved sinner. However, I still experience feelings of shame, sadness, guilt, even embarrassment when I know I have fallen and sinned. I think it’s a natural tendency to want to hide when those feelings arise. It can be so hard to look into the eyes of people we have hurt, and even harder to turn to God who we have hurt. However, I believe God is calling us to turn towards him in those moments, rather than turn away. Our shame and guilt no longer have to consume us, but God’s unending compassion and forgiveness can fill us. When we are closed off, He is opening His heart to us through things like prayer, Scripture, the Sacraments, nature, community. This Lenten season, we may be fasting from something we tend to turn to as a distraction or because of a habit. Let us use that time or those moments that we would usually turn to those things, to turn to God instead.
Lord, thank you for your compassion and forgiveness. Please open my heart to accept these gifts and remember that they come from your ultimate sacrifice.
– Anonymous