Every day of Lent, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click HERE for the readings.
The psalms are great for meditation. The psalm response for today’s Mass is this: “Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.”
When children do something wrong, they hope not to be punished too harshly for their wrongdoing. We must ask the same from God – remembering that God is like a good parent who knows how to discipline his children with love, not out of spite. “Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.”
Jesus tells us how to avoid being harshly punished for our sins. He says, “Forgive and you will be forgiven.” He also says that the measure we use to forgive is the measure that God will use when forgiving us. If we forgive much, we will be forgiven much, is the operative spiritual principal for Jesus.
Forgiveness of those who have hurt us can go a long way in healing our relationships with one another and God assures us that forgiveness is essential to our own eternal salvation. So, today, we pray with special fervor: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”