Reflections
Psalm 103: 1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 (Read)
"Not according to our sins
does He deal with us."
Our psalmist sings the praises
of a divine and loving God,
who surrounds us with
compassion, pardons our sins,
heals our ills.
compassion, pardons our sins,
heals our ills.
He nurses no lasting anger,
He has not dealt with us as our
sins deserve. Our duty is to
remain faithful to the Lord,
sins deserve. Our duty is to
remain faithful to the Lord,
as we are His children,
and to treat His anointed ones
with love and compassion,
as He would do.
as He would do.
We are to be merciful to our enemies
by imitating the Father. The Psalm
tells us how:
by imitating the Father. The Psalm
tells us how:
“Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
Slow to anger and abounding in kindness.”
Who can love their enemies, and do good
to them? It will be difficult if we allow our
earthly nature to rule us. Just as “God
has not dealt with us as our sins merit,”
to them? It will be difficult if we allow our
earthly nature to rule us. Just as “God
has not dealt with us as our sins merit,”
so must we have compassion on those
we may be inclined to condemn.
We cannot imitate God without a share
in Christ’s divinity, by allowing the Holy
Spirit within us to guide us. Only then
will we have the kind of compassion
in Christ’s divinity, by allowing the Holy
Spirit within us to guide us. Only then
will we have the kind of compassion
the psalmist speaks about.
As the Psalm says, God’s love towers over us
if we are his faithful.
If we love the Lord, it will show in our hearts,
and the old things will then pass away.
The Psalm says it well:
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He put our transgressions behind us.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our Psalm speaks of a loving and compassionate God,
who does not deal with us according to our sins. Are you able
to treat those who have harmed you in the same way? Explain.
2. The verses of the Psalm remind us of the power of the
Sacrament of Reconciliation, "As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He put our transgressions behind us." Relate how the
Sacrament works for you to put your sins behind you.
1. It's extremely easy to react with anger, irritation, jealousy, or hatred. Those are earthly ways of dealing with a not-so-pleasant situation. I love overcoming challenges in the sports world, so one way I try to continue to love in hard times is to view the situation as another challenge, and try to conquer it by loving, even if someone does not show it back. If I react with anger, then I lose.
ReplyDelete2. The ability for God to forgive us our sins is one of the most loving acts, and refusing it is plain ignorance. God gives us a chance to renew ourselves. However, it's important to understand that I can't keep sinning, go to Confession, and then keep sinning again. There has to be effort put into bettering myself and my soul, otherwise I would be abusing the Sacrament.
In Psalm 103 our psalmist David reminds me again of God’s mercy and God’s great love for us. He does not repay us according to our sins which deserve punishment. In fact God forgives our sins, heals our diseases, and redeems us.
ReplyDeleteGod's love toward human beings is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger; God does not harbor his anger. And also He will remove our sins and wipe our record clean.
On the contrary, look at me -- I am impatient, no love in me, so it has been hard for me to forgive others. Lately I regret my unloving behavior and impatient attitude over my husband’s negative comments about me. I have been provocative.
I allowed my earthly nature to rule over me. I was ready to attack and condemn him without feeling sorry. Why? I felt abused by him, so I attacked him with harsh words. Even good Christians do not realize how their repeating insensitive remarks make others hurt. Whether it is a fact or not, we should avoid to say things to hurt another.
I thought about God’s nature - mercy and forgiveness - and how God forgives our sins and forgets. And also I thought about how fragile and unforgiving I am. Even though I want to imitate God’s nature and want to share in Christ’s divinity, I could not stop sinning by my own will. Thankfully with the Holy Spirit's guidance I was led to repent and taste the joy of full redemption. Only through God’s mercy it is possible. My soul praises your name, Lord, because you pardon my sins and put them as far as the east is from the west,
Allelula !