Ignatian tips 8

Notes: We are still considering the presence of evil in our lives, but today in an entirely different way. We now open ourselves to the mercy of our Father. Ignatius invites us to experience the wonder to be felt when, in spite of the reality of our own sin, we come face to face with the infinite mercy of God. Today our attitude on our Walk is that of a repentant sinner, but above all of a sinner who is immensely loved.

Grace: Dear Father, I ask you for the gift of an interior, felt knowledge of my sinfulness so that I may experience also your love for me, as well as a growing desire to turn towards you and a renewed enthusiasm for following Jesus.

Reflections: You have reflected on the reality of human sin and your own sinfulness. Today you are invited to reflect on the awesome reality of God’s mercy. You are loved and forgiven, completely. “Repent and believe the Good News.” The two go hand in hand. That is, we first accept the reality of our sinfulness and repent truly that we have brought disharmony and disorder to our own life and to the world. We then believe the Good News: God is merciful, always has been and always will be. What ultimately matters is not that we are faithful to God (none of us is capable of complete fidelity) but that God is faithful to us. It is the same God who accompanies you: at your best moments, when you behave well and earn praise from all sides and at you most shameful moments, when you know there is good reason for you to be disgraced. You cannot earn God’s love, and you do not have to! God’s love is freely given, so freely given that seems impossible to us! The father in the parable, though he has every reason to be angry, harbors no resentment. His younger son has offended him and squandered what he worked so hard to accumulate, a thing we humans find almost impossible to accept. Indeed, the elder son cannot accept the forgiving attitude of the father.

In your life as sinner, you are not alone. You are forgiven. You are loved. And this is what drives us to repentance, to the desire to make amends. But we must know that we need God’s grace to repent and desire to do so: we do not know and follow the right way by our own wisdom and strength. Ask Jesus. Pray that you may be willing and able to accept fully what God offers so freely: forgiveness. We humans often go through life saddled with crippling guilt. God asks us instead to walk in freedom.

Scripture:

Luke 15: 11-32. This son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.

Luke 5: 17-26. When Jesus saw their faith he said (to the paralytic), “Your sins are forgiven.”

John 8: 2-11. And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and do not sin again.”

Romans 5: 1-8. God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

Final Colloquy: I talk to Jesus as one friend does to another, experiencing with growing feeling the wonder of being alive at this moment, and feeling that I live in a world that is called to be saved by the love of God. I contemplate its creation and history. Then, after meditating on the destruction of sin, I speak with Jesus about the grace of the forgiveness I have received. It is a dialogue about mercy, in which I reflect and give thanks to God our Lord, because has given me life until now, and I propose with His grace to amend my life from now on. To conclude, I say a heartfelt Our Father.