“To confess your sins to God is not to tell him anything he doesn’t already know. Until you confess them, however, they are the abyss between you. When you confess them, they become the bridge.”

God is none other than the Savior of our wretchedness. So we can only know God well by knowing our iniquities... Those who have known God without knowing their wretchedness have not glorified him, but have glorified themselves.- Blaise Pascal: (1623 –1662: was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Christian philosopher)

Gospel Text: (MT 11:20-24)

Jesus began to reproach the towns

where most of his mighty deeds had been done,

since they had not repented.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst

had been done in Tyre and Sidon,

they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.

But I tell you, it will be more tolerable

for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

And as for you, Capernaum:

Will you be exalted to heaven?

You will go down to the nether world.

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,

it would have remained until this day.

But I tell you, it will be more tolerable

for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

In the readings for today from Mass, we see the Lord speaking to various cities and communities, and not in the most approving of ways. In both the first reading (Isaiah 7:1-9) and the Gospel noted above, the Lord has reproach for these cities which have seen the goodness of the Lord. Whether through action, scripture, preaching, or miracles they experienced God’s grace and yet did not repent. Today, our faith is countercultural drawing us away from our faith rather than towards God. Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm! (Is 7:9).  If we start to view the trends of today as truth, what will come of us? If we dread, fear, or hate, how we will ever become closer to God? We cannot expect something so glorious to be easily attainable, but have faith through the sufferings we incur along the way. It is through these sufferings that we are able to experience true peace and the love of God here on earth.

God graces us with His presence in our daily lives in order to transform us by His love and mercy into what He has planned for us. God places on our hearts his Word and Will for our lives. When we open ourselves up to this possibility and begin to live in faith, we realize that it is the only possibility and wish to be transformed. Why would we want to do anything else? We have free will and can make the active choice to open our lives to the will of God, or to turn down the wide and easy path.

In what way will you choose to seek His Will today?