Daily Gospel Reflection for September 23, 2024

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Luke 8:16-18

In today’s Gospel, we confront these stark words:

“For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.”

Nothing secret will be kept hidden, including my darkest thoughts? Well, yes.

I’ve long thought, with much trepidation, that in the afterlife, we might be shown a movie of our lives, and in it, we’ll review every decision we’ve made and how it affected others. It would include both good decisions we’ve made to lighten others’ loads, but also a rundown of those that will make us cringe in sadness and shame.

But as scary a prospect as this is, the fact that everything will come to light should mostly be a reassurance to us. As we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Like a physician who probes the wound before healing it, God, by his word and by his Spirit, casts a living light on sin.” (CCC 1848)This is a reminder that God does not wish for us to bring our wounds to Him so that he can punish us, but so that He can heal us and set us free.

Today, we celebrate St. Pius of Pietrelcina, who, it is widely believed, could read souls. Whether or not this can be definitively determined, we know he was a firm believer in Confession, suggesting the sacrament as a weekly practice. Though regular Confession seems to have lost momentum in recent decades, perhaps it’s time to renew the practice, for it would seem that the more often we bring our sins to the Lord—Who already knows them all but is eager to bestow mercy on us—the more healed and ready we’ll be for heaven. As the Catechism also intimates, until we really understand sin, we can’t really understand mercy.

Ponder:

What is your reaction to being reminded that all will come to the light in time? Does it leave you feeling more consoled or concerned?

Pray:

Dear Lord, help me to be less repelled by thoughts about approaching You with my sin and more drawn to bringing my faults to You, knowing You are eager to bestow Your mercy upon me. For You are not my brooding tyrant, but my loving Father.

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