March 18, 2019
Daniel is telling us that our Lord loves those who keep his Commandments and how ashamed we are for sinning and not living up to his expectations. Our Lord is an "Awesome God" - He knows we are human, living in a world today that tries to draw us away from Him. It is a war of sorts. It is us against Satan and the everyday temptations we all run into. God never leaves us. He is all-forgiving. All we need is to ask and believe that he truly loves us as the "Heavenly Father" He is. Believing we are forgiven is not easy - that is why we often pray "forgive me my present and past sins, O Lord" - Just to be sure (in case he may have forgotten) that we are truly sorry for all our sins and to assure ourselves that we have been forgiven. Life is a tough journey and we sometimes fail. We need His help to get through it in one piece. He will never let us down; that is why we remind ourselves everyday to try and do our best to do His will.
The Gospel of Luke is short but direct. God is trying hard to tell us to trust in him. Don't be so judgmental - of your family, friends and any action from people you don't know personally, but they still upset you. We don't have to accept, but instead pray for those people and hope with all our heart and in our actions that they will, in turn, treat others the same way. Each night when saying our prayers, let us all add that we are "letting go" of any hurtful or revengeful feelings/events of this day. Ask Jesus for His help in making us less judgmental.
Start each day with a fresh slate, so to speak, without rancor. It is not easy to let things go - but Jesus wants to take our burdens. Why? Because He loves us unconditionally. The least we can do is try to pay attention to what He tries to tell us in his teachings and to really try to be "more like Him".
Sally Marriot
St. Anthony Parishioner
