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 mercy. 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. It is important to understand how sin came to be, what we lost because of it, and why we need a Savior to get back to the Father.
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.
It is important to accept ourselves as sinners who need a Savior. When we do sin the key is bringing ourselves back to God’s mercy in the Sacraments, spending time in silence each day in prayer, and helping others. As a sinner, sin can sometimes consume us. We can fall into addiction and feel hopeless.
Satan will deceive us and tempt us to think God could never love someone who has fallen into a life of sin. Sometimes people fall too far away from God after they sin or because they are struggling with a sin that they currently cannot overcome. Others do not think sin has 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.
The Good News is before the Fall, God created us to be holy and without blemish before the foundation of the world in the blood of Christ! We are created for love and we have never been unloved. Our Father, who IS love, created us and is chasing after us. He wants to spend time with you every day. He wants you to know you are loved and His arms are always open to receive you.
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. One lesson I have learned lately as I carry baggage from past sins is failing to forgive myself. After confession, I continue to feel guilt or continue to crucify myself over past sin. This is part of the journey of accepting ourselves as a sinner.
What does repent mean? Repent means to change the way you think about life (metanoia) and avoid the near occasion of 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 and sacrifice. It requires offering up your crosses and allowing 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!” We are forgiven sinners!
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 by filling ourselves with God’s grace, love, and mercy, 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. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” MT 6:12
Now that is the comfort and joy I have been looking for. 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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