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40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Friday in the First Week of Lent, 03 March 2023 Ezekiel 18:21-28 < + + + > Matthew 5:20-26
Praise and glory to you, God our merciful Father! You are so loving, so forgiving to our sins. "If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, Lord who can stand? But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered" (Psalm 130:3-4).
Yes, there are times that I also say like the people of Israel "The Lord's way is not fair!" (Ezekiel 18:25) when in fact, it is always me who has been unfair to myself and to others, ultimately to you!
Thus says the Lord God: “When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if a wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life, since he has turned away from all the sins which he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Ezekiel 18:26-28
You are most fair and just, dear God; you do not derive pleasure from the death of a wicked but rather rejoices when one turns away from sins (Ezekiel 18:23); for you, dear Father, the person that you see is the person I am NOW, what matters with you are my relationships with you NOW with the past, good or bad, forgotten; let me not be anxious of my past but let me guard against complacency that I remain faithful and true to you in every here and now. Amen.
