Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Monday of the second week of Lent, March 2nd, 2026

Delivered by Erica Tanzil from the Parish of Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. Daniel 9: 4b-10; Rs psalm 79: 8.9.11.13; Luke 6: 36-38.LORD, LOOK NOT ON OURSINS The title for ourmeditation today is: Lord, Look Not On Our Sins. This sentence is taken fromthe prayer of “Peace” that we always recite before the Holy Communion in thecelebration of the eucharist. There is a close relationship with the removal orremission of sins with peace. People who are free from sins, we can be surethat they experience a peaceful, calm, and comfortable life. In reality it isnot easy to always avoid sin, especially if the sins are from within ourselves,such as from our mind, heart, and mouth. We often repeat thesame mistakes. If this is not treated with act of repentance and the reception of the sacrament ofReconciliation, one may feel nice and comfortable living with sins.Consequently, more and more sins accumulated and the person is no longer awarebeing a sinner even though he or she does commit sins. Therefore the prayer "Lord, look not on oursins" is an expression of our unceasing petition from us who are still livingin this world. If God does look on our sins and we are only considered assinners, we could be as useless as dust that people simply trample on theground. Instead we ask God togive attention to the faith of every one from the people of God. We as sinnershave our faith, maybe even a strong one. This is shown in the act of Confessionthat confirms ourselves as sinners and who have done wrong, as preached in thebook of Daniel in the first reading today. Jesus Christ made only one accountfor our sins by the sacrifice of Himself on the cross. What we should try to donow is to fulfill what is obliged from us, which is our self-confession andrenewal of life before God and our neighbor. Our faith does notimmediately or automatically erase our sins. In addition to the confession ofsins that characterizes the faith, we are taught by Jesus to strengthen ourfaith with virtues so as to free us from sins and evil. Today we are taught onthe virtue of generosity, and we are asked to be generous like the Father inheaven who is generous. One of the main characteristics of a generous person isto be the first to do good through words or deeds. Therefore, to love afterbeing loved or to exchange love is actually not generosity but fairness orjustice. With this quality ofgenerosity, we do not judge, punish, or slander at first moment. Generosityleads us to forgive first, to give first, to take the first step to be rightand good person. This is all not to promote and entertain ourselves, butbecause love is very demanding. This can prevent us from increasing our sins.Let's pray. In the name of the Father... Almighty Father in heaven, we pray that You do not look on our sins, but onour faith and increase an unfailing love in everyone of us your belovedchildren. Hail Mary, full of grace ... In the name of the Father ...