Lent is living in the present

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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.