Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary

. . . each one according to his ways. 

Today’s reading from the Book of Ezekiel is all about personal responsibility. Each person, the prophet says, will be held accountable for their own actions. Our deeds, for good or ill, are ours alone, and God will judge us based on them. There is no room for excuses or for blaming someone else for our own conduct.

This might sound frightening, but the story doesn’t end there—and it doesn’t need to be frightening. Yes, each of us is responsible for our lives. But that also means that each of us can choose to “return and live” (Ezekiel 18:32). After all, as the Lord says, he takes no pleasure when someone dies in sin. He wants everyone to live! He offers us the opportunity to take responsibility for our sins, turn away from them, and turn back to him. He will always give us his forgiveness and the grace to live a righteous life.

Repentance is the key to this righteous life that Ezekiel talks about. It’s the way that we can turn from unrighteousness and be converted and cleansed of guilt. It’s how we can open ourselves to the Lord’s grace and “make for [ourselves] a new heart and a new spirit” (Ezekiel 18:31)!

The place we receive this forgiveness and grace, first and foremost, is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It’s there that we take responsibility before God in a special way for our thoughts and our words, for what we have done and what we have failed to do. We honestly acknowledge our motivations. And we meet our merciful God, who is eager to pour out his grace to help us sin no more—to help us begin a new life.

Many parishes offer Confession on Saturdays. If yours does, consider going today. Experience for yourself the freedom of casting off your sins and starting fresh. Return to the Lord, and live!

“Lord, thank you for this sacrament of healing!”

Ezekiel 18:1-10, 13, 30-32
Psalm 51:12-15, 18-19
Matthew 19:13-15