Nm 21:4b-9 Ps 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38 Phil 2:6-11 Jn 3:13-17

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

Mercy. God sheds his amazing gift of mercy on us constantly, and out of respect and gratitude for this we are all called to open ourselves up to the Lord and lay out our sins before him. In today’s first reading, God is quick to extend his mercy to the people and relieve them from the serpents once they admit to their sin of complaining about God. Admitting our faults is a critical part of developing our relationship with Christ and is built into our faith; we are called to bring to mind our sins at Mass and through the beautiful sacrament of Reconciliation.

Confessing the wrongs in our lives to God requires us to humble ourselves. We have to fully acknowledge our sins and truly feel sorry for them as we hand them over to God. Thankfully, Jesus offers himself as the perfect example of how to be humble. He came in human form to the world and “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave”(Phil 2:7). Jesus even gave himself up to "death on a cross" for us. If Jesus was able to offer his life for us, we can surely find the strength to humble ourselves and give our sins to him, so that he can take them away.

Right before I go to Reconciliation, I sometimes find myself scared and nervous because I start to doubt whether God’s mercy can really extend to me and erase my sins, but I always find my strength and go through with the confession because I recall “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16). We should never fear asking for God’s mercy because God’s love is unconditional, and he wants nothing more than to draw us closer to him. When we ask for forgiveness, it’s important to remember “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him”(Jn 3:17). God wants to save us from our sins and forgive us! Lets make a point to embrace that and offer our sins to the Lord, so that he can remove them and overwhelm us with his peace.