IN OTHER WORDS,
FORGIVEN
“Child, your sins are forgiven.” – Mark 2:5
I didn’t feel like praying that night but I was scheduled to visit
Jesus at the Blessed Sacrament. So I went anyway. I had just come from a
fight with a colleague. I was exhausted and moody, but it was not an
excuse for me to snap back at her. I left the office feeling bad and not
wanting to face Jesus. I sat there at the pew, ashamed of myself. I
shared with God what I felt but I still felt bad about what I had done.
Finally, I went out of the little chapel to St. Joseph’s sleeping
statue and there met a grandmother who struck a conversation with me. I
listened to her still feeling ashamed of myself, until she said, “You’re
beautiful when you smile. You’re a blessing, an angel in disguise.”
I almost laughed. Me? I’m awful, I thought to myself. But as her words
made their way to my heart, I felt the Lord offering His forgiveness to
me through her words of affirmation. He reminded me of my true identity
as His child, a child who sins but a child of God nonetheless. I went
out of the church feeling better, receiving Jesus’ mercy that knows no
bounds and ready to offer the same mercy to myself and to my friend. Marjorie Ann Duterte (marjorie.travels@gmail.com)
Reflection: “You are not your sin.” (Marc V. Lopez)
Lord, forgive us our weaknesses. Remind us that Your mercy is always available to us and, with Your grace, we can rise again.
St. Paul the Hermit, pray for us.
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