PILGRIMAGE

Romans 3:21-3-; Ps 130 With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption; Luke 11:47-54


psalm 130 for today it a penitential psalm. It is one of the seven traditional penitential psalms: 6, 32, 38, 50, 102, 130, 143.

It is worth praying them at some point.  They all have a similar theme: recognition of sin, expression of true contrition and sorrow, asking for forgiveness and trusting in God's mercy.

The psalm for today begins, "out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD…I trust in the LORD, my soul trust in his word…"

When was the last time we really and truly examine our life and recognized those things that have filled our life?  More importantly when have we rejoiced in God's forgiveness?

The penitential psalms are more than just about recognition of sin and being sorrowful.  These are important.  They lead to rejoicing and greater trust in God.  Every time we celebrate God's forgiveness we actually grow in trust and confidence in his mercy toward us.

God remains true to his word and we get to celebrate that every time we go to confession.  We get to confess our faith in God's boundless gift of forgiveness.  Over time, the more we celebrate God's mercy the more we become what we celebrate.

This is the beauty of the penitential psalms; they help us become what we seek: mercy given to us becomes mercy for others through us.

As St Paul tells u sin the first reading, "What occasion is there then for boasting? It is ruled out."

In deed all boasting falls silence before the boundless mercy of God.

Think about being justified by God's grace as St Paul tells us in today's first reading.  That word grace is "charis" in greek.  This should be a familiar word for us.  At the very heart of the mass, the Eucharist, in which we receive the very gift of God himself we see "Charis."  Eu-charis-t.  It is the way God puts his grace in us.

Amen to that!