March 3: Friday in the First Week of Lent
Read
Psalm 130 | For there is forgiveness with you; therefore, you shall be feared.
Pray
O God, you call us to repent
To acknowledge our wrong and make it right.
But we do not like to be wrong,
We like to nurse our wounds,
Ignoring the wounds we cause in others.
We are quick to seek to be forgiven,
Without seeking to first forgive.
We often wear our shortcomings like badges of honor.
Remove the heart of stone and give us contrite hearts
that we may turn again to you, the God of justice and grace. Amen.
Reflect
Forgiveness is hard. Forgiveness means that we have to let go of the hurts and harms done to us or done by us. It means that we have to admit that we were wrong and seek to make amends for our behavior.
More often than not, we hold on to the slights and slings, venerating them as trophies of how we have been wronged or mistreated. But Jesus throughout the gospel invited his disciples and us to practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that we can change the past. At its core, forgiveness is an act of self because it means that we will not be held back or held down by our past. But forgiveness also requires facing and telling the truth of our actions. Forgiveness is hard, and in Jesus we have an example of how we release the burdens that bind us.
Do
Who do you need to forgive today? Who needs to forgive you?
Make a list, offer a prayer, and call someone you need to forgive or that you need to ask forgive from.
Tags: 2023 Lenten Meditations