Homily for Monday of the 2nd Week in Lent
In our first reading this morning from the Book of Daniel, we kind of have a synopsis of the history of the people of Israel, how they constantly turned away from God despite continually being called to follow His commands and precepts. Throughout the Old Testament, we have the accounts of the prophets all calling the Israelites to repentance, to return back to God. And yet, the Jews somehow always found themselves rebelling, found themselves turning away from Him by different means, even with all this help from the Lord trying to get their attention.
We can relate to the Israelites pretty well, in that regard, can’t we? Despite all that the Lord has done for us in our lives, we so often find ourselves in the very same shoes – turning away from Him and not following His will but choosing to do what we think is best for us.
Sin is deliberately choosing to love ourselves over loving God. Even after we have experienced so many incredible blessings and received so many different gifts from God, we still choose ourselves over Him. And yet, despite that, His love for us never wavers; His forgiveness is always waiting for us. We simply have to acknowledge our sinfulness and return to God with contrition and a firm resolve to truly repent.
This season of Lent is the perfect opportunity for us to ask God for help in finally getting over our sins. He’s always waiting for us. We just have to make the decision to stop running from Him. Today, let’s ask Him for that grace. Let’s ask Him for the strength and the courage to finally stop fighting against Him and to truly seek His forgiveness and His love.
Fr. Tom Pringle 