The Lord revealed a simple Truth to me yesterday during Mass with Char while we were all praying and singing “Lamb of God.” When we all sang the last line “grant us peace,” that’s when He made it clear. He said “My merciful love grants peace.” So many things made sense the more I meditated on this.
It’s amazing how many times we beckon the Lord to have mercy on us during Mass. It is the only proper posture to have when knowing that soon we will be receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, the King of kings, and Lord of all. We all stand before Him great sinners and truly unworthy of approaching the Holy of Holies. We must totally rely on His mercy toward us if we would like to have peace in our hearts when receiving Him.
Moments before receiving the Holy Eucharist, and after praying the Lamb of God, we humbly say while kneeling, “Lord, I’m not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” In this prayer we imitate the centurion who was the one who said this. His posture was that of complete humility, contrition, and faith. He knew the Lord would hear his prayer and be merciful to him, and because of that he had peace. A priest once told me that the word Jesus says that heals our soul is peace—the peace that only He can give. And this peace comes from His merciful love.
Whenever I feel like things are not going so well in my life, like being caught in a storm, feeling lost, confused, and being more prone to sin, it is because I stop relying and believing in His mercy. When I take my eyes off His merciful gaze, that is when I lose the peace in my soul. What usually helps is when I do a thorough examination of conscious while asking God to help me see my sins. It hurts but it is necessary. I praise God when I feel very sorrowful for the ways I offended Him. I then ask for the grace to have true contrition for my sins, and to help me repent. With this posture I go to Confession to receive total absolution and forgiveness of all my sins. That is when He restores that peace in my heart, and what helps me to be merciful to others. It’s a lot easier to be merciful to others when I realize how merciful God has been to me.
Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace. Amen.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us!