March 19th
"Your Sins are Forgiven"God speaks to the people through the prophet Isaiah, saying, "You burdened me with your sins, and wearied me with your crimes. It is I, I, who wipe out, for my own sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more." And Jesus comes to make this a reality for all people who will accept it. This is the Gospel. It is why our faith is called "Good News." "When I have committed some sin or feel distressed, I shall imagine myself kneeling at the foot of the cross, like Mary Magdalen, and receiving on my head the shower of blood and water which flowed from the Savior's wounded heart." Blessed (Pope) John XXIII "Have you sinned? Go into the church and wipe out your sin. As often as you might fall down in the marketplace, you pick yourself up again. So too, as often as you sin, repent your sin. Do not despair." St. John Chrysostom "Don't worry; abandon yourself to the divine heart of Jesus and leave all your cares to Him. Always place yourself last among those who love the Lord, considering everybody to be better than you…The more that graces and favors grow in your soul, the more you should humble yourself." St. (Padre) Pio "Considering the wounds of Christ by which we have been saved, St. Ambrose said, 'I can revel in none of my deeds, I have nothing to boast about; therefore I will glory in Christ. I will not glory because I am just, but I will glory because I have been redeemed. I will not glory because I am exempt from sins, but I will glory because my sins have been forgiven. I will not glory because I have been a help, nor because someone has helped me, but because Christ is my advocate with the Father, and Christ's blood was poured out for me. My sin has become for me the price of the Redemption, through which Christ came to me. For my sake, Christ tasted death. Sin is more profitable than innocence. Innocence had made me arrogant, sin made me humble.'" Pope John Paul II |