Lk 15: 1-10
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
What a gift it is to be a sinner and to be invited to eat with the Lord?! God’s mercy is poured out in such lavish ways that we may not understand, and we will never deserve, but regardless, the Lord invites us to “Rejoice!”
When is the last time you allowed yourself to receive the gift of God’s forgiveness? Instead of worrying about what you may have or have not done, or how long it has been since your last confession… rejoice! Be happy that you are in need of God’s mercy and run to the Lord for forgiveness and friendship. I am not suggesting that we revel in our sins, far from it. But I am suggesting that we need not be surprised by our sins or turn in on ourselves as a result. If we can accept ourselves as we are, we can rejoice with God and be the sinner who repents!
In preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, along with an examination of conscience, we may ask ourselves the three questions posed to us in the first week of the Spiritual Exercises:
—Carly-Anne Gannon is a PhD student in Theology and Education, and a Roche Fellow at Boston College’s Roche Center for Catholic Education.
Lord,
I believe in your mercy, help my unbelief.
Give me the grace to trust in your love for me.
Help me to return to You and not sin again,
Amen.
—Carly-Anne Gannon
Please share the Good Word with your friends!
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Ignatian spirituality reminds us that God pursues us in the routines of our home and work life, and in the hopes and fears of life's challenges. The founder of the Jesuits, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, created the Spiritual Exercises to deepen our relationship with Christ and to move our contemplation into service. May this prayer site anchor your day and strengthen your resolve to remember what truly matters.
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