Micah 7:14-15, 18-20, Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I will get up and go to my father and shall say to him,

Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. Lk 15:18

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20, Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20

My soul's beloved, You are our Good Shepherd, You lead Your sheep to pasture. We are Your inheritance given to You by Your Father. We are not much my Lord for we are weak, wicked, sinful, prone to wickedness. Yet, You love us so much that You lay down Your life for us and have restored to us what we had lost forever. You continue to work great signs and wonders for us in the ordinary struggles of our daily life.

Thank You my Beloved for forgiveness of sin the the sweet Sacrament of Reconciliation. Here our sins are confessed, forgiven, and forgotten by You. You restore the sinner once more as a member of the family of God. Thank You for Your compassion and mercy in dealing with us not as we deserve but according to the rich and tender mercy of Your divine heart.

Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12

My soul's beloved, how assuring it is to know that You are kind and merciful. You love me not in the measure as I deserve for then You would not love me at all, but in the measure of Your immensely generous, and compassionate heart. Thank You for not withholding 

Your mercy from me but for readily forgiving me every time I ask for forgiveness. No sin is too great that You will not forgive it when I ask it in sorrow and repentance with a heart truly contrite. You do not grumble because I am weak, You do not scold me because I lack discipline and self-control but fall over and over again. All You desire is to love me and provide all the grace necessary to help me overcome my weaknesses which are legion. Continue to help me Lord. Carry me when I have no strength of my own. Prevent me from getting ensnared in the traps set out for me and keep me safe in Your everlasting love.

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

My soul's beloved, only God could conceive such a parable as that of the Prodigal Son. Such a story is beyond the imagination for we lack the generosity, the largeness of heart, the capacity to love as our Father in heaven loves us. He loves us best when we are at our weakest and are aware that we are helpless without His. It is only when I acknowledge how sinful I am, how far I have strayed from the father's house after wallowing in sin and finding that the fruit of sin is death, darkness, and destruction only then will I realize the extent of what my defiance in the face of love has cost me.

Thank You that the gates are always open to the sinner who resolves to sin no more and return home. Thank You for You assurance that the Father will restore all that we had renounced by deliberately walking away from the Father's house. Forgive me also if I have ever been self-righteous and pompous like the older brother - enumerating my virtues before God and demanding that He bless me because I am entitled to His blessings. For lacking in love when my sinful brothers and sister return home and God blesses them with an abundance of blessings because He rejoices at their return. Forgive my selfishness and my narrow mindedness. Help me to rejoice as much as heaven does at the return of the sinner and to weep when the sinner strays from God.