BUT NOW WE MUST CELEBRATE AND REJOICE, BECAUSE YOUR BROTHER WAS DEAD AND HAS COME TO LIFE AGAIN; HE WAS LOST AND HAS BEEN FOUND.’” LK 15:1-3, 11-32
Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
Prayer Prompt before reading LK 15:1-3, 11-32: Come, Holy Spirit, teach me how to pray, interpret the Scriptures for me so that I may know the Truth about who God the Father and God the Son are so that I may know who I am.
Jesus’s message today in the Gospel is definitely Good News! Whichever son you are in the parable, we have been in both positions. The first son is lost and caught up in worldly possessions. The second son is the righteous son. He has been doing what is right.
This does not mean he is not a sinner. The key to Jesus’s message is compassion. God the Father is the father in this parable of the Prodigal Son. God welcomes us back no matter how lost we get or how many times we sin. We must learn what sin is and fight it to become holy.
What I have found to be the greatest way to fight sin is to desire holiness, a desire to be close to Jesus and see Him in every part of my day. He truly is present now with every one of us. He is not dead, He is alive!
Most importantly, I desire an intimate relationship with Him. I have seen His amazing grace at work in my life and the more I know Jesus and what He did for me, the more I know myself which helps me in all of my relationships.
When we do sin the key is WE MUST REPENT as the son who fell into the lie that the world and devil tries to get us to follow. Satan’s greatest lie is God doesn’t want us to do anything He just has a bunch of rules to follow. The Truth is God gives us commandments to keep us from falling into addiction and misery.
Our trust needs to be totally and completely in God and His ways. Too many people tire from failing and needing to repent. We cannot rely on ourselves, we need God’s grace. Jesus cannot die for the sins we do not repent for. Sometimes people fall too far away from God after they sin or because they are struggling with a sin that they currently cannot overcome.
Shame is crippling, a result of sin. Satan will use this against us and tell us lies that we will never be holy or God cannot love us after what we did. On the other hand, some may think sin has no consequences. Sin has very serious consequences. Jesus tells us this over and over in the Gospels.
Jesus has tried to teach this lesson by appearing to two visionary saints, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque had visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Faustina had visions of Jesus with the message of Divine Mercy. God is trying to tell us something.
We must repent, our sins are small compared to the ocean of God’s mercy. God’s grace is bigger than any sin. God’s grace came to restore what sin has damaged. Another group of people fail at forgiving themselves. They go to confession then continue to feel guilt or continue to crucify themselves over past sin. They are taking away the power of the Cross. This is why Jesus died!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What does repent mean? Repent means to change the way you think about life (metanoia) and stop the sin you are repenting for, this takes time and God’s grace to overcome with good counsel. It requires daily or monthly confession. It requires a personal relationship with Jesus in prayer and frequent reception of the sacraments. It requires fasting, sacrifice and a desire to be holy (which is what we are created for). It requires offering up your crosses and inviting Jesus to be with you in them.
So, where do we start? Prayer in front of a crucifix. Kneel or sit in front of that crucifix and just talk to Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Learn to be still and sit in silence. Jesus will not leave you without answers. He will wrestle with you and give you commands.
He will test the intention of your heart. Most of all, He will love you like no human can. He will always have open arms for you to run to. He knows you better than you know yourself and He loves you more than you love yourself. Let Him love you!
God does not have a tablet keeping track of everyone’s sins. He has mercy and love with justice, sin hurts Him and everyone around us. We are called to forget our sins and our past shortcomings with lessons learned from them and look forward. St. JPII says, “We are not the sum of our past sins, shortcomings, and failures. We are the sum of God the Father’s love for us in the capacity of the image of Jesus Christ to the world!”
The beauty of God is our future, new hope, heaven, the heart’s greatest desire. St. Augustine says, “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” We in turn are called to do the same for others. If we do not forgive others their transgressions the Father will not forgive ours. MT 6:15
The measure with which you measure will be measured back to you. When we learn to forgive ourselves, repent and change our lives to become holy, forgive others and have compassion (a heart full of understanding; to suffer with) God promises us an eternal future in heaven with Him because we have been transformed into Him.
Now that is the comfort and joy I have been looking for among the peaks and valleys of a sinner’s life. A life of sin brings anxiety, worry, and misery. Sin is its own punishment. We hate living in sin. Let Jesus love you and heal your pain. Then, the celebration in heaven over a soul that was lost and now is found will be a great celebration!
Today’s challenge: Repent, change your life by getting to know Jesus better. When you get to know Him heart to heart, you will want nothing else but to be with Him and get to heaven. Then, you will fight sin, repent, have compassion, deny yourself, take up your crosses and become holy. Nothing else will matter!
Be a servant, be a saint today!
#Christian YODO (You Only Die Once; We will live again!)
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