Lent is a holy season when we look into our inner self and do “mea culpa, mea culpa.”
The voice of Daniel in our first reading is our guide and a wake-up call. In the Book of Daniel, chapter 9: 4-10, we hear these words “We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.” “We are shamefaced” “But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness.”
We have “rebelled” against you. Sin is an act of rebellion.
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word “Rebel” as: “to oppose or disobey one in authority or control.”
In the gospel, Jesus continues the Sermon on the Plain. Jesus told His disciples and us to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Misericordia is the Latin for “mercy”, it comes from misericors, “merciful”, which is, in turn, comes from misereri, “to pity”, and cor, “heart”. Thus, misericordia, or mercy, means to give, to extend one’s heart to the misery of others. God’s heart extends into our misery, into our suffering in Jesus Christ. This is the mystery of the Incarnation, of God becoming man.
When Pope Francis announced a Jubilee Year of Mercy, he began with a very simple truth:
“Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy… Whoever sees Jesus, sees the Father (cf. John 14:9). Jesus of Nazareth, by his words, his actions, and his entire person reveals the mercy of God.”
The responsorial Psalm 103:10 says “Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.” Jesus Christ is the answer to this cry. God himself comes into our poverty and into our misery and draws all of it into himself on the cross to redeem it. It is on the cross that Jesus reveals the Father’s mercy.
Jesus also talks about “forgiveness” “not to judge”, “to give” and that the “measure” we give out to others will, in turn, be measured out to us.
Jesus says how we pull out our measuring tape and measure other people is how we will be measured. If we cheat in our measurements, then watch out!
Jesus reminded us that judgment belongs to God alone. Lent is not a time to point fingers; rather, it is a sacred time to look at the mirror. A time of self-introspection. You and I want the Lord “to look upon us with kindness” on Judgment Day, then let us extend that same generosity to others.
The Lord, therefore, asks us to look in the mirror: “Look in the mirror, but not to put on makeup to hide the wrinkles. No, no, no, that’s not the advice! Look in the mirror to look at yourself as you are”, says Pope Francis.
Lent is a time of mercy, a time to be shamefaced of the bad things we have done or the good things that we have failed to do. It is a time to look at the mirror —a sacred time of love, forgiveness, and peace. Have a wonderful week
