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TODAY’S WORD…

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Have mercy on me, O God,
because of Your unfailing love.
Because of Your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.

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The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit.

You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

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– Psalm 51:1-2 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Lent is the most opportune time

for considering how we receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation

– that meeting with Christ, who makes Himself present in the priest.

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It is a meeting which is always unique and always different.

In it He welcomes us as the Good Shepherd,

He heals our wounds,

He cleanses us

and strengthens us.

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When we go to receive this Sacrament

we must think of Christ above all else.

We must make sure He is the centre of this sacramental act.

We need to look at Jesus much more than at ourselves.

We must keep our eyes on His goodness

rather than on our own wretchedness.,

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Every contrite Confession

is a drawing near to the holiness of God,

a rediscovery of one’s true identity, which has been upset and disturbed by sin,

a liberation in the very depth of one’s self

and thus a regaining of lost joy, the joy of being saved,

which the majority of people in our time are no longer capable of experiencing. (St John Paul II)

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Let us ask the Holy Spirit

to make us aware of, to experience, a sense of loss of God,

so that we may draw close to Him,

for He is waiting for us, with open arms, in the Sacrament of Confession and Reconciliation.

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ALLELUIA…

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Let all that I am praise the Lord;

may I never forget the good things He does for me.

He forgives all my sins

and heals all my diseases.

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– Psalm 103:2-3

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Let all that I am praise You, O Lord;

May I never forget the good things You do for me.

You forgive all my sins and You heal all my diseases.

…  …  …  …  …  …  …  …  …  …  …  …  …  … 

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.