Daily Retreat 02/18/08
2008 Feb 18 Mon: Lenten Weekday
Dn 9: 4b-10/ Ps 78(79): 8. 9. 11 and 13/ Lk 6: 36-38
From today’s readings: “Lord, great and awesome God, You who keep Your merciful covenant toward those who love You and observe Your commandments! We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from Your commandments and Your laws.... Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.... Be merciful, just as Your Father is merciful. Stop judging, and you will not be judged. Stop condemning, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven!”
Collective Guilt
So many of the prophets and saints have, in addition to a keen sense of contrition for personal sins, an equally zealous spirit of penance for sins of all the people. Rather than coldly but justifiably disassociating themselves from the sins of others, such saints imitate Christ by committing themselves to penance on behalf of others, thereby joining themselves to the saving mission of Christ.
Chapter nine of the book of Daniel includes one of the most penitential prayers in the whole Bible - throughout the prayer, the holy prophet deliberately accepts more than his share of the collective guilt of his nation as he intercedes fervently for all the people. Even though he came before Christ's revelation of the fullness of God's mercy, Daniel is still acutely aware of God's willingness, in spite of our unworthiness, to forgive us, concluding near the end of his prayer, "we do not present our supplications before Thee on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of Thy great mercy!" (Dan 9:18).
For each one of us, the penance of Lent must begin with personal contrition for our own sins as individuals, but, following Daniel's example and joining ourselves to the saving mission of Christ, you and I can and should also shoulder some of the weight of the heavy cross of our collective guilt. A timely idea for doing this is to choose any one of the great societal evils of our day, and commit yourself to a daily Lenten act of penance, invoking God's mercy and calling on Christ's redemptive self-sacrifice in reparation for that particular evil, seeking the compassion and forgiveness that God is so ready to give all His children who call upon Him!
Dn 9: 4b-10/ Ps 78(79): 8. 9. 11 and 13/ Lk 6: 36-38
From today’s readings: “Lord, great and awesome God, You who keep Your merciful covenant toward those who love You and observe Your commandments! We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from Your commandments and Your laws.... Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.... Be merciful, just as Your Father is merciful. Stop judging, and you will not be judged. Stop condemning, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven!”
Collective Guilt
So many of the prophets and saints have, in addition to a keen sense of contrition for personal sins, an equally zealous spirit of penance for sins of all the people. Rather than coldly but justifiably disassociating themselves from the sins of others, such saints imitate Christ by committing themselves to penance on behalf of others, thereby joining themselves to the saving mission of Christ.
Chapter nine of the book of Daniel includes one of the most penitential prayers in the whole Bible - throughout the prayer, the holy prophet deliberately accepts more than his share of the collective guilt of his nation as he intercedes fervently for all the people. Even though he came before Christ's revelation of the fullness of God's mercy, Daniel is still acutely aware of God's willingness, in spite of our unworthiness, to forgive us, concluding near the end of his prayer, "we do not present our supplications before Thee on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of Thy great mercy!" (Dan 9:18).
For each one of us, the penance of Lent must begin with personal contrition for our own sins as individuals, but, following Daniel's example and joining ourselves to the saving mission of Christ, you and I can and should also shoulder some of the weight of the heavy cross of our collective guilt. A timely idea for doing this is to choose any one of the great societal evils of our day, and commit yourself to a daily Lenten act of penance, invoking God's mercy and calling on Christ's redemptive self-sacrifice in reparation for that particular evil, seeking the compassion and forgiveness that God is so ready to give all His children who call upon Him!
posted by FrPitstick | 2/16/2008
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