As I sing the graces of the Lord so will he give to me his mercy forever in eternity.

As I sing the graces of the Lord so will he give to me his mercy forever in eternity!

Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?  For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.  Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.   (Mt 16: 24 - 28).

A premise for Lent that should awaken our understanding of just what these 40 days asks of our praying, fasting, and almsgiving which should prepare our sacrifices for Easter.  When the Son of God accepted to Incarnate himself for his people it was to awaken the closed minds of humanity and find the grace that can only come from Christ.  Throughout the Old Testament the Lord, God, continued to send prophets with warnings which referred to himself as a Redeemer if they would bow to a Father who wanted to give his everlasting love for his created children.  

God promises to completely forgive, cleanse, and forget the sins of those who repent and trust in Jesus Christ.  All that is needed is trust in Christ and follow his example of fairness towards his fellow man.  It seems that because of self-centeredness towards our neighbor the issue of being fair has somehow become clouded with thoughts of grandeur that places our neighbor in a position of lost souls.  See the example of (Mt. 18: 23 - 35).  

We might wonder what the first question the Lord will ask us at our judgment might be; “How did you treat your neighbor?”  It will not be a question of how many Masses we attended, or the rosaries we prayed.   All good and the effects of their character have meaning, but did we see to the personal needs or forgiveness of our neighbor who did something to offend us?  How did Jesus approach the very similarities towards each of us; as he hung upon that cross, dying for our own sins?  This entails personal sacrifice on our part.

Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice.  “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit.”  The prophets of the Old Covenant often denounced sacrifices that were not from the heart or not coupled with love of neighbor.  Jesus recalls the words of the prophet Hosea: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”  The only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father’s love and for our salvation.  By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God.  (CCC 2100). 

A reminder that Christ sees within humanity the very essence that encompasses all of us and are always in need of forgiveness.  Because he died for every human who turns to him we also must offer ourselves for our neighbors; because in each person we can see the image of Christ through love and mercy.

Ralph B. Hathaway