Tuesday of the Second Week

Reflection

The central message of our readings today is to do good, not evil.  Those who do good and follow the Lord’s commandments will be praised. He wants us to view Him as the only Lord and Father. God is saying through the Scriptures that we need to repent and to do good by following the Lord so our sins can be washed away.  He wants us to be with Him, not far away because of sin.  Also, the Lord is asking us to do humble actions in His name; not simply preaching good news, but demonstrating the good news.

 

The part of the passages that most helped me to understand God was when the Lord directly stated what He desired from His people.  In the first reading, He said to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to stop sinning and to do good. I can relate to Him by desiring to do good and to be humble in actions in order to do His will.  It is challenging to do the Lord’s will, not our will, when sin can look so tempting and when others are against us, but it is encouraging that the Lord will forgive us if we turn to Him. I try to show the Lord’s teachings in word and action, but sometimes I fail. It is a part of human nature. If I sin badly, I try to go to confession to say how sorry I am for hurting Him.  We just need to remember that our Father is still waiting for us to return with open arms.

 

“Doing good” is directly linked with how God wants me to relate to others.  In the Gospel, He said that He is the only Lord the Christ, and all others are my brothers or sisters.  He desires us to relate to others as a family in Christ and treat every human as brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

Prayer

Dear Lord our Father, You love us above all things. May You help us to come back to You when we fall away from Your love and help us to follow You alone, so we can do Your will in words and deeds. Amen.

 

Nicole Skaluba, ’18

 

Scripture

First Reading: Isaiah 1:10, 16-20

Psalm 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21, 23

Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12

 

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website