The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
Our readings for the First Sunday of Lent certainly make us aware of our sinfulness. We hear about mankind’s fall from grace in the garden. The psalm has us crying out to God, “be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.” St. Paul reminds us that “death came to all man, in so much as all sinned.” It’s hard to ignore the fact that we’re sinners.
Maybe it’s just me, but I really don’t like acknowledging when I’ve messed up, when I’ve sinned. It makes me uncomfortable. I have to recognize that I’m imperfect, that I have things I need to apologize for. It makes me feel vulnerable. It’s hard.
A few years ago on a retreat, the Lord was inviting me to look at my shortcomings and sins. I knew He wanted to bring about a good thing, to lift a weight from me and show me mercy. But I was really afraid of owning up to these things. I saw all these sins as a kind of dark pit. I was restless and resistant. There were tears. It was painful.
But through it all, the Lord was patient and gentle. He just waited and told me that unless I acknowledged these places and gave Him access to them, He wouldn’t be able to move in them. I wouldn’t be able to experience the way He was longing to renew my heart.
In that moment of prayer, once I truly acknowledged those places of sin, Jesus did the most wonderful thing: He looked at me with tenderness and compassion. And in the pit where my sin was, He placed His Cross. The place of my worst sins became the very place where He planted His greatest act of love and mercy in my heart.
Jesus desires to show this radical love to each of us, again and again. We only have to turn to Him, acknowledge our sinfulness, and cry out, “be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.”
As we begin this Lenten journey, I encourage you to be honest with the Lord. Acknowledge the places where you have turned from Him, even when that’s difficult. He will be there to help you. Surrender these places to Him. Meet Jesus in the Sacrament of Confession. He will plant His merciful love in the place where sin once was.
Alyssa Trutter is blessed to be journeying through life with the Lord. She is a consecrated lay woman and has served in ministry for almost 20 years. She loves being outside, baking, laughing, writing, adventuring, and having heartfelt conversations with friends and family.
