Reading 1
Dn 9:4b-10
“Lord, great and awesome God,
you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you
and observe your commandments!
We have sinned, been wicked and done evil;
we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.
We have not obeyed your servants the prophets,
who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes,
our fathers, and all the people of the land.
Justice, O Lord, is on your side;
we are shamefaced even to this day:
we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem,
and all Israel, near and far,
in all the countries to which you have scattered them
because of their treachery toward you.
O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
for having sinned against you.
But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!
Yet we rebelled against you
and paid no heed to your command, O LORD, our God,
to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets.”
Ps 79:8, 9, 11 and 13
Responsorial PsalmR. (see 103:10a)
Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Gospel
Lk 6:36-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
Meditation: Daniel 9:4-10
“Great and awesome God, you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you.” (Daniel 9:4)
Awesome … Merciful … Covenant. Doesn’t this sound like a strange way to begin a prayer of repentance? And yet here is Daniel, confidently proclaiming God’s love before he starts confessing his sins and the sins of his people!
How can Daniel be so certain that God will forgive him? Perhaps because he has history on his side. Time after time, God had shown Daniel how much he loved him. He provided for his swift ascension through the ranks of a gentile kingdom. He saved him in the lion’s den and from a conspiracy to have him killed. Clearly, God was committed to Daniel!
Daniel has no problem being honest about his sins and those of his people. He doesn’t keep anything a secret, even though he knows that justice isn’t exactly on his side (Daniel 9:7). Trusting that he is safe in God’s presence, he can come clean before the Lord because he has experienced God’s covenant of mercy over and over again.
How do you look at God? If you see him as critical and overbearing in his demands, you’ll either avoid coming to him altogether or you will be so bound in guilt that you’ll spend your whole prayer time confessing your sins and bemoaning your lack of faith.
Don’t fall into that trap! Your heavenly Father is too good, too generous, for that! Take Daniel as your model instead. Believe that the God you are confessing to is a loving, merciful Father. Recall his goodness to you over the years. Think about Jesus’ willingness to endure the cross just so that you could be redeemed. He wouldn’t go through all of that and then withhold his forgiveness, would he?
So go ahead and proclaim and trust in God’s mercy and love for you. Go ahead and confess your sins to him. You don’t have to fear any condemnation. Just keep Daniel’s words in the forefront of your mind, and you’ll do fine: “Yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness” (Daniel 9:9).
“Lord, your love for me is strong! Give me a humble and contrite heart. Help me lay my sins at your feet so that I can know true freedom.”
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