Lent is mercy of God

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40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Second Week of Lent, 02 March 2026
Daniel 9:4-10     + + +     Luke 6:36-38

Your words today,
O Lord Jesus
are short but give
much to reflect on:
"Be merciful...
stop judging...
stop condemning...
Forgive...
Give."

Jesus,
teach me to be
"shamefaced"
like Daniel in the first
reading: it is not enough
that I realize my sinfulness,
of my wickedness in refusing
to love, in turning away from you,
in disregarding your words
over and over and still -
be forgiven and loved.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).

So often in life,
I forget the Father's
mercy that I have totally
been oblivious to being
merciful; thank you Jesus
in giving this comparison today,
of being merciful as the Father
is merciful.

What a shame
of how often I look up
to myself as so good,
so righteous
against others
that I judge
and condemn them;
teach me to be like
you, Lord: merciful,
non-judgmental,
forgiving;
most of all,
teach me to give
freely like you, Lord;
remind me always
to remember your 
mercy on me
to realize that 
more than an ideal, 
mercy is about 
how it feels
in my own life.

Lord Jesus Christ,
you have given me with
so much love and mercy,
kindness and forgiveness
of sins but I have refused
to be merciful with others;
have mercy on me, Lord
and let me be merciful
like the Father.
Amen.