A LAMP TO MY FEET. A LIGHT FOR MY PATH.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I will exalt You, my God and King,

and praise Your name forever and ever.

I will praise You every day;

yes, I will praise You forever.

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Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!

No one can measure His greatness.

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– Psalm 145:1-3 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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I will…

I will…

I will…

Three times the psalmist says “I will”

– ccome what may, he will praise the Lord.

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In both good times and bad, we praise the Lord.

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When we truly get to know the Lord,

we will want to praise Him every day – come what may!

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When we truly get to know the Lord,

our desire to praise Him will know no bounds,

and we will want it to continue.

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We praise Him with a personal affection for Him

as lovingly wish Him well.

This becomes the natural thing to do,

and as we advance in our personal relationship with Jesus,

and as we grow in grace,

so will our determination to praise Him and bless Him forever – world without end!

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PRAYER…

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You are great, O Lord, and without You I’m nothing.

Thank You, O God, I will exalt You and praise Your name every day, forever and ever!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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They made a calf at Horeb

and worshipped a cast image.

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They exchanged the glory of God

for the image of an ox that eats grass.

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They forgot God, their Saviour…

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– Psalm 106:19-21a (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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How many false gods are there in my life?

How many false gods have I created, which result in my putting aside the Lord God and Saviour?

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Have I chosen to forget all that the Lord God went through to save me and to give me eternal life?

Have I decided to put aside God’s word and His teachings and commandments, so as to satisfy my earthly desires?

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How foolish can man be!

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How wise are Saint Bernard’s words:

“While I live I will keep in remembrance

the difficulties that our Lord Christ suffered in preaching:

His weariness in working,

His temptations when He fasted,

His long vigils when He prayed,

His tears when He wept for pity of good people,

the grievous and the shameful and the filthy things that men said of Him,

of the foul spitting that men spat at His face,

of the foul knocks and blows that men gave Him,

of the foul sneering, and of the insults that men said to Him,

of the nails with which He was nailed to the cross,

and of all the rest of His passion that He suffered for my sins, and not at all for His own guilt."

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PRAYER…

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How can I forget You, Lord?

How can I put You, my Lord, God and Saviour, aside?

How can I be so self centered and short sighted?

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Please forgive me, Lord for the many times when I failed You.

Help me, Lord, as I seek to live according to Your word.

Help me never lose heart in difficult circumstances.

Help me always trust fully in Your love for me.

Strengthen and increase my faith, Lord.

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Thank You, Lord, for never giving up on me

and for always being by my side, as You are right now.

I love You Lord!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The Lord is merciful and compassionate,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

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The Lord is good to everyone.

He showers compassion on all His creation.

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The Lord always keeps His promises;

He is gracious in all He does.

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The Lord helps the fallen

and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

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The Lord is righteous in everything He does;

He is filled with kindness.

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The Lord is close to all who call on Him,

yes, to all who call on Him in truth.

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– Psalm 145:8-9,13b-14,17-18 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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The Lord is

merciful,

compassionate,

slow to get angry,

filled with unfailing love,

good to everyone,

gracious in all He does

righteous in everything He does,

filled with kindness.

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The Lord

showers compassion on all His creation,

always keeps His promises,

helps the fallen,

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lifts those bent beneath their loads.

The Lord responds

to all those who believe in Him

and who invoke Him with humility, full of trust, and with love.

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The Lord is close to all who call on Him…in truth

The false, the skeptical, the impatient, the selfish and the proud

– these push the Lord away.

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As St John of the Cross tells us,

“there is no better way

to be granted the petitions that we hold in our hearts,

than to put all the strength of our prayer into what is most pleasing to God;

for then, He will not only grant us what we ask – our salvation;

He will also give us what He sees we need

and what would be good for us,

even though we did not petition Him for it.”

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PRAYER…

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Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God,

have mercy on me, a sinner.

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Dear Lord, in my love for You,

help me be unpretentious, full of trust,

patient and persevering, unselfish, and humble.

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Lord, I yearn for, and glory in, Your nearness.

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Stay with me, Lord, I need You by my side.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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God is our shelter and strength,

always ready to help in times of trouble.

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So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken

and mountains fall into the ocean depths;

even if the seas roar and rage,

and the hills are shaken by the violence.

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– Psalm 46:1-3 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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As convinced Christians,

we have total confidence in God.

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With God by our side we are filled with hope

and we will not be afraid!

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PRAYER…

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My Living God, You are my refuge, my shelter, my strength.

Lord, You know my deepest needs

and I know that You will carry me and protect me in every circumstance.

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Thank You, Lord God.

Forgive me, Lord God.

I love You, Lord God.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I cried to You for help, O Lord my God,

and You healed me;

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Sing praise to the Lord,

all His faithful people!

Remember what the Holy One has done,

and give Him thanks!

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His anger lasts only a moment,

His goodness for a lifetime.

Tears may flow in the night,

but joy comes in the morning.

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You have changed my sadness into a joyful dance;

You have taken away my sorrow

and surrounded me with joy.

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So I will not be silent;

I will sing praise to You.

Lord, You are my God;

I will give You thanks forever.

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– Psalm 30:2,4-6,11-13 (GNT)

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From a REFLECTION on Psalm 30 by Pope Saint John Paul II…

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This Psalm reflects that intense and gentle thanksgiving that rises to God from the heart,

after deep anguish and fear has been dispelled.

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After every tearful night, the dawn of a new day arises

and the faithful believer praises the Lord, God and Healer,

recalling the cry directed to Him in the time of trial,

and God’s subsequent liberating intervention.

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Sensations oscillate constantly

between the terrible memory of the nightmare experienced and the joy of deliverance.

The memory of past suffering is still clear and vivid;

weeping has been dried from the eyes only a short while ago.

But now the dawn of a new day has arisen…and life continues.

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The faithful believer forcefully contrasts the earlier anguish felt,

with the joy of restoration to life, hope and freedom.

Such a crisis enables one to pass from the illusion of self-sufficiency

to an abiding trust in the Lord, who remains ever faithful to His promises.

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The Psalm is an encouragement never to despair of God’s saving power

in all circumstances, even in the face of death.

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QUOTE…

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"We must never be ensnared by the dark confusion of despair, when it seems that everything is lost.

Of course, one must not fall into the illusion of being able to save oneself, with one’s own resources."

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– Pope Saint John Paul II

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PRAYER…

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I will sing praise to You, O Lord, for You are my God.

You fill my heart with an abundance of joy and peace, and I will give You thanks forever.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Happy are those

who reject the advice of evil people,

who do not follow the example of sinners

or join those who have no use for God.

Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the Lord,

and they study it day and night.

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They are like trees that grow beside a stream,

that bear fruit at the right time,

and whose leaves do not dry up.

They succeed in everything they do.

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But evil people are not like this at all;

they are like straw that the wind blows away.

Sinners will be condemned by God

and kept apart from God’s own people.

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The righteous are guided and protected by the Lord,

but the evil are on the way to their doom..

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– Psalm 1:1-6 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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This is the very first Psalm

– it is a rather short one,

but it serves as the perfect introduction to the whole Book of Psalms.

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It immediately invites us

to reflect on and pray about all that happens in this life

…and beyond it…

in the context of God’s direction and commandments,

and our freedom to choose between good and evil.

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PRAYER…

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Lord, protect me, refresh me, that I may grow in faith.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I take joy in doing your will, my God,

for your instructions are written on my heart.

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– Psalm 40:8 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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I take joy in doing Your will, my God…

Do I?

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…for Your instructions are written on my heart.

Are they?

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Undeniably, there are times when obeying God is hard.

Even Jesus experience that

as He wrestled with His Father’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane.

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Ultimately, however, whether doing God’s will is hard or easy,

we are rewarded with a very special divine and indescribable pleasure and joy.

This comes from knowing that what we are doing honours and glorifies God.

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Moreover, when we do what is right,

we feel a sense of well-being that comes from achieving our life’s purpose. We have been put on this earth to live for God’s glory,

so when we do it, we feel joy.

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Our intellect rejoices

and so does our heart

because it is from deep inside of us that we know and accept

that God’s Word is the Truth, the Way and the Life

– the only Truth, the only Way, and the only Life.

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PRAYER…

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O Lord, You know that there are times when I struggle to do Your will

as I battle between the desire for short-term pleasures rather than the long-term joy of obeying Your truth.

But I know very well that obeying You, my God, is what gives me delight, especially because it honours and glorifies You.

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Lord, shape my mind and heart, that I will always deeply desire what is right and despise what is wrong, and experience that great joy in obeying You.

Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Even if I go through the deepest darkness,

I will not be afraid, Lord,

for You are with me.

Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me.

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– Psalm 23:4 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Here is the ground of a true Christian’s confidence

– God is with us,

and His presence inspires us with confidence and comfort, hope and joy.

He is Light in the deepest darkness.

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I will not give way to my fears,

but I will confidently rely upon the word and promise of my God,

persuaded that His grace is sufficient for me,

and that He will ultimately make everything work for my good.

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His rod and staff – God’s word and His Spirit – they comfort me.

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His gospel is the rod of His strength and of His discipline,

saturated with wisdom and comfort in all situations,

dispensing unconditional love and care.

His Spirit is the Comforter Himself,

and where He is, support, comfort and wisdom cannot be wanting.

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With His staff He leads and supports me,

He defends and protects me,

upholding me with His grace.

All this love and care are more than sufficient for me under all my trails.

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PRAYER…

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Lord, You are my shepherd; I have everything I need.

You let me rest in fields of green grass and lead me to quiet pools of fresh water.

You give me new strength.

You guide me in the right paths, as You have promised.

Hold my hand and lead me, Lord.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Happy are those whose sins are forgiven,

whose wrongs are pardoned.

Happy is the one whom the Lord does not accuse of doing wrong

and who is free from all deceit.

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When I did not confess my sins,

I was worn out from crying all day long.

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Then I confessed my sins to You;

I did not conceal my wrongdoings.

I decided to confess them to You,

and You forgave all my sins.

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You are my hiding place;
You will save me from trouble.
I sing aloud of Your salvation,
because You protect me.

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The Lord says, “I will teach you the way you should go;
I will instruct you and advise you.”

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– Psalm 32:1-3,5,7-8 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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The sins we commit distance us from God,

and, if they are not humbly confessed, trusting in the divine mercy,

they will finally bring about the death of the soul.

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Jesus became one like us to teach us and to show us the way.

Then, out of His great love for us, He suffered and died for us

with the aim of obtaining reconciliation, forgiveness and salvation for us.

Through His resurrection, He then opened the gates of His heavenly Kingdom for those who choose to follow Him and His example.

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PRAYER…

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Blessed Virgin Mother of God, preserved from every stain of sin,

pray for us and help us to avoid sin

and lead us to the Sacrament of Confession and Forgiveness

that we may reconcile ourselves with Your Son, Our Lord and Saviour.

Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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My guilt overwhelms me –

it is a burden too heavy to bear.

My wounds fester and stink

because of my foolish sins.

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I am bent over and racked with pain.

All day long I walk around filled with grief.

A raging fever burns within me,

and my health is broken.

I am exhausted and completely crushed.

My groans come from an anguished heart.

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You know what I long for, Lord;

You hear my every sigh.

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But I confess my sins;

I am deeply sorry for what I have done.

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– Psalm 38:4-9,18 (NLT)

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Pope Francis warns that the confessional is not like the dry cleaners, so we must not treat it like one…

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Pope Francis gave this warning yesterday, the 21st March, 2017,

noting that for one to properly confess and be forgiven,

one must feel great shame for what they have done.

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The Pope warned that, without feeling ashamed in the confessional it is a false pardon.

The Pope explained that the Sacrament of Reconciliation

must not simply be, to me, going to confession, saying my sins,

being forgiven by the priest, who gives me three Hail Marys to pray and then leaving in peace.

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If that’s how I see it, then I have not understood, and Pope Francis goes on to caution:

“You have not gone to confession ashamed of what you have done.

You have seen stains on your conscience

and have mistakenly believed that the confessional box is like the dry cleaners that removes those sins.

You’re unable to feel shame for your sins.”

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The Pope concludes:

“Let us ask for the grace to be ashamed before God.

It is a huge grace to feel ashamed of our sins and then receive forgiveness

and the grace of generosity to give it to others,

because the Lord has forgiven all, so who am I to not forgive?”

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PRAYER…

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O my God, I am ashamed and heartily sorry for having offended You,

and I detest all my sins because I offend You, my God,

You who are all good and deserving of all my love.

I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace,

to do penance, and to change my life. Amen.

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