Return, faithless Israel, says the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, says the Lord; I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you have rebelled against the Lord your God…. Return, O faithless children, says the Lord, for I am your master.
Jeremiah 3: 12-14
Are we individually any different than the nation of Israel? Each Sunday, we are called to confess our sins, and we are forgiven of them. We receive Jesus through His precious body and blood in communion. And then we go out into the world. How long does it take us to begin falling away and committing sin? Do we make it through the lobby without saying or thinking something that God would find offensive? How did our drive home go? Can we make it through 24 hours? Do we grumble with our supervisors, our customers, or any part of our work? Do we speak an unkind word to someone we know, a family member, our spouse, or a stranger? Lent is a season of grace given to us by God, which allows us to surrender ourselves more fully to Him. Unequivocally, God desires our relationship with Him to be the center of our lives, not for His sake but for our good.
Let us pray with St. Gregory:
I am of no use to you at all, Lord, for I am willingly self-destructive
of soul and body, and remain spiritually lost and mentally deluded,
with a twisted soul and broken heart.
It is no new thing to find me in the fog of iniquity.
I am always the same, breaking the same commandments
and appearing before you unreformed, stumbling in an unmendable garment.
And only you, O truly compassionate and blessed,
with your love of mankind and your unwavering forgiveness…
I have sinned in everything and in all ways.
Have mercy upon me, O compassionate God.
Amen
Prayer 22 C, D
