Tuesday of the First Week 

Reflection

In today’s passages, God is telling us to listen to His words and obey them. God tells us that with words, we should glorify His name and praise Him for all He has done for us. One of God’s most prominent messages in the Scriptures that are given to us today is that He wants us to forgive others as well as forgive ourselves. Throughout our daily lives, we sometimes try to blame others for our actions and even more so it can be difficult for us to forgive others. Through the Gospel itself, Jesus teaches us to pray to the Father in order for us to be saved. God’s forgiveness is open and available to all, but in both giving and receiving forgiveness, there is a conversion of heart that allows us to fully be part of God’s mercy and love. With God on our side, we will be able to understand one another and eventually forgive ourselves for what we have done to others.

What was most prominent was the reading from Isaiah which talks about not only our actions are being judged by God, but our own words toward others. Not only can our actions affect others, but words can play a significant role on how we feel or act toward someone. Today we live in a world where both our actions and words have to be specific in order to not offend somebody, however, if we are not honest about how we feel, then we are doing more harm than good. To me, this speaks volumes because God wants us to love everyone no matter who they are or where they come from because in His eyes, we are all His children. God wants us to know that He is there for us and that He will protect us, however, we must do our part. Moving forward, we should listen to God's word and spread His love to all. We must also forgive others as He has forgiven us, otherwise, we may never know what His love truly is.

Prayer

God, grant me Your wisdom to know how to forgive others, Your strength in knowing how to love others, and the peace of mind to know that You will always be with us in our time of need.  Amen.

Rachael Southworth, ’21

Scripture

First Reading: Isaiah 55:10-11

Psalm 34:4-7, 16-19

Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website