Posted on 10/18/2009 5:19:08 AM PDT by GonzoII
A reflection on the first Mass reading for October 16, 2009 (Romans 4:1-8) by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB.
When we heard the letter of St Paul to the Romans yesterday, that last sentence struck me: “Blessed the man whose sin the Lord does not record.” If the Lord is so gracious as to not record the sins of a man, can we be as gracious to ourselves? It’s good to repent and to know our sinfulness, but when the knowledge of our sins consumes us and we’re so busy recording everything we’ve done it weighs us down. And then we start recording others’ sins to alleviate our own sense of guilt.
The only way to stop that negativity is to start recording all that’s good. Start making a record of the good things you do. Start focusing on that. If we look for the good it will lift our hearts and the atmosphere we live in. We know that if we look for the bad we will find it. So equally, if we look for the good, we’ll find that too. That can be a lot of work; but it’s worth it. What are you looking for? What you look for you will find.
If you look for the good, you encourage the good. If you look for virtue you encourage virtue. If we lighten our own load, we will move along lighter.
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