2nd week in Lent, Monday – 6th March 2023 – Daniel 9,4-10; Lk 6,36-38
Great and Awesome God
The first reading from the book of Daniel reminds us that we are sinners and we need God’s mercy and compassion. It begins by acknowledging Who God is: “Great and awesome God, You who keep Your merciful covenant toward those who love You…” It ends by reiterating God’s everlasting nature: “To the Lord our God belongs mercy and forgiveness.” This prayer presents the God who remains steadfast and loving always and in all His ways. On the other hand, it is a beautiful prayer for each of us as individuals, and as members of a community of faith, and as part of the human race. It is an excellent penance prayer – a national act of contrition, describing God’s perfection and man’s imperfection. It is a prayer of sorrow and repentance for the many ways in which we have failed to listen to God and his messengers. It is a prayer which contains humility, worship, confession and petition: “We have sinned … we have rebelled … we have not obeyed … we are shame faced.” Thus, this prayer points the finger at ourselves and invites us to be fully aware of and acknowledge our own failures and to beg for God’s mercy and compassion on our knees.
