Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Fr. Jerry Gaeta, a good friend of St. Margaret’s and a member of the Benedictine Oblate Chapter that meets here, wrote a wonderful and important reflection for Ash Wednesday. I’d like to share it with you (with his permission, of course), because I think it’s something we should be aware of year round, not just in the Lenten season.
*****
On this Ash Wednesday, a word from Cyril of Jerusalem:
Your accumulated offenses do not surpass the multitude of God’s mercies;
your wounds do not surpass the great Physician’s skill.
In his book, The Name of God is Mercy, (Random House 2016) p. 210, Pope Francis writes:
"The apostles and all their successors (bishops and their colleagues the priests) become
instruments of the mercy of God. They act in persona Christi. This is very beautiful. It has
deep significance because we are social beings. If you are not capable of talking to your
brother about your mistakes, you can be sure that you can’t talk about them with God either,
and therefore you end up confessing into the mirror to yourself."
The wisdom of the mercy of God is known throughout the history of the Church. Cyril of
Jerusalem reminds us just as does Pope Francis that whatever we have done, left undone,
said, left unsaid, (etc.) is always forgiven in the mercy of God. Pope Francis reminds us that
God is always faithful to whom God is – our God of mercy.
The blessings of God’s mercy revealed in our lives in the forgiveness received for our
accumulated offenses are beyond measure, beyond comprehension.
This is so as we discover that we – on our own without the wisdom/strength of the Holy Spirit –
are incapable of sharing forgiveness with one another. This mercy is of God and clearly not
of our own whim.
An aside: The above is not seeking to exclude the forgiveness we offer to one another. This
is a rich blessing. Rather, the above affirms that our God is a God of mercy. If we share
forgiveness with one another, we do so as we have first been forgiven by God. We become
instruments of God’s mercy for one who has offended us.
*****
Blessings,
Mo. Laura
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COMING UP!
- March 30: Last day for gift card sal
- April 5: 10:00 Safeguarding Training at St. Margaret’s
- May 3: 10:00 Training for LEMs/LEVs at St. Margaret’s