Reflection for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Divine Dialogue of God with the Soul

Today, Mercy is written all over the Readings at Mass. Jesus is criticized because He eats with sinners. A shepherd rejoices at finding the one lost sheep even though he has 99 who never strayed. The angels celebrate over repentant sinners. The woman loses a small coin and throws a party when she finds it. And the son who takes the inheritance of his father (who is still alive, by the way) and squanders it in sinful living then crawls back to his father hoping for a shred of mercy, only to see him running toward him with outstretched arms from the distance where his dad has been watching for him!

We know the stories. We know the Mercy of God who authored them. We know He will take us back.

No.  Matter.  What.

So what is new about today’s Gospel?  The news is that it’s as real today as it was the first time we ever went to confession. His Mercy is always brand new. Over and over and over He goes out looking for us to carry us home. He sweeps the darkest corners of our sinful hearts to find us when we are lost. And He opens His arms as He runs to us, even when, especially when, we are crawling back to Him in shame or embarrassment for the Mercy we are desperately hoping for.

Seven times.
Seventy times.
Seven million times.
Big sins.
Little sins
Repeated sins.
Endlessly, He runs to us.
His Mercy is as new,
as free,
as complete
as the first time we asked.
Now, that’s the best news of all.
 

Seek His Mercy, then pass it on to the one who has hurt you most.
God bless you.