Scripture for meditation: Luke 22:59-62
About an hour after that another spoke more insistently: “This man was certainly with Him, for he is a Galilean.” Peter responded, “My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.” At the very moment he was saying this, a cock crowed. The Lord turned around and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the words that the Lord had spoken to him, “Before the cock crows today you will deny me three times.” He went out and wept bitterly.
Christ says: Luke 5:32
“I have not come to invite the self-righteous to a change of heart, but sinners.”
We learn in The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska (entries 1577,1578) Christ is speaking to Saint Faustina:
“Tell souls not to place within their own hearts obstacles to My mercy, which so greatly wants to act within them. My mercy works in all those hearts which open their doors to it. Both the sinner and the righteous person have need of My mercy. Conversion as well as perseverance is a grace of My mercy. Let souls who are striving for perfection particularly adore My mercy, because the abundance of graces which I grant them flows from My mercy. I desire that those souls distinguish themselves by boundless trust in My Mercy. I myself will attend to the sanctification of such souls. I will provide them with everything they will need to attain sanctity. The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is – trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive. Souls that trust boundlessly are a great comfort to Me, because I pour all the treasures of My graces into them. I rejoice that they ask for much, because it is My desire to give much, very much. On the other hand, I am sad when souls ask for little, when they narrow their hearts.”
Prayer: An Act of Contrition
Oh 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 I 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.
My thoughts: The Lord turned and looked at Peter…and he wept. Christ’s eyes must have held such sadness, yet such love. It was too much for Peter to bear, and he cried. But he did not despair. He had truly listened to Christ when He said that He came to save sinners and not condemn them. Christ is looking at each of us today with eyes filled with love. We have strayed from His word, His blueprint for life. But His message to Saint Faustina can only lead us to one conclusion. He wants us back. His mercy is unfathomable. It is ours for the asking and He wants us to ask for it. That is all we have to do.
Our prayer to God: Why not take time this weekend to make a good confession? Pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance, examine your conscience, note your sins, tell them to a priest, make a good act of contrition, and then do the penance the priest gives you. Over and done: mercy asked for, mercy received. Do not let pride stand in the way of your freedom and eternal life. This Advent, let us invite Christ back into the home we have prepared for Him in our hearts.
Remember to say the Christmas Novena 15 times today:
Christmas Novena
Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires(mention request here).
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.
Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires(mention request here).
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.
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