Devotion for today: a time to forgive, and a time to ask for forgiveness

Mary asked us to always begin our prayers with a plea for forgiveness from God. This will keep us humble, honest and sincere in our prayers and in our dealings with each other. To begin the new year on a good foot, we now examine our lives based on the Beatitudes, the basis for all good Christian living. Take a really long, hard look at each of these and see how you fail. It is truly humbling and yet freeing. If you find yourself treating this as a test where you hope to get to the end without scoring any “sins” then trust me, you have missed the point. Ask me how I know. So then go back and do it again slowly, allowing God to pull up those nasty weeds for you to see, ask forgiveness for, and get rid of. Your will be amazed at how light and free you will feel.

LITANY OF FORGIVENESS

Lord Jesus Christ, you said:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Yet we are preoccupied with money and worldly goods
and put our trust in what we possess
rather than in your care for us.

Have mercy on us,

O Lord, have mercy on us.

Lord Jesus Christ, you said:

Blessed are the gentle,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Yet we are so concerned about our own rights and self-interest
and so little concerned about serving others.
 

Have mercy on us,

O Lord, have mercy on us.

Lord Jesus Christ, you said:
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Yet we are impatient under our burdens
and unconcerned about the burdens of others.
 

Have mercy on us,

O Lord, have mercy on us.

 Lord Jesus Christ, you said:
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall have their fill.
Yet we do not thirst for you,
the fountain of all holiness,
and we are satisfied with half-measures and mediocrity.
 

Have mercy on us,

O Lord, have mercy on us.

Lord Jesus Christ, you said:
Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive
mercy. Yet we are so quick to condemn, so slow to forgive.

 Have mercy on us,

O Lord, have mercy on us.

 Lord Jesus Christ, you said:

Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.
Yet we have often regarded persons
created in your image as objects of our own lusts
and cannot raise our eyes to you.
 
Have mercy on us,
O Lord, have mercy on us.
 

Lord Jesus Christ, you said:

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the children of God.
Yet we are so often ruthless with each other,
and our homes and our world are full of discord and resentments.
 
Have mercy on us,
O Lord, have mercy on us.
 

Lord, Jesus Christ. you said:

Blessed are those who suffer persecution for holiness' sake,
for the Kingdom of God is theirs.
Yet we suffer no opposition because we have been ashamed of you,
our Crucified Savior,
and have lived worldly compromises of your Gospel.

Have mercy on us,

O Lord, have mercy on us.
http://www.catholicdoors.com/prayers/english3/p02490.htm

Act of Contrition:

O My God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee;
And I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments;
But most of all, because they offended Thee, my God,
Who art all good, and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more,
and to avoid the near occasion of sin. Amen.

Lord Have Mercy, by Michael Smith and Amy Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDpp_YdXnqs