LEAVE THE PAST! STRAIN FORWARD, PRESS ON!

Today we hear what God says to us through the prophet Isaiah, ‘…remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing…’ (Is 43:16-21). St. Paul as it were, speaks of ‘forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on…’ Our Blessed Lord brings to life the teaching of the Prophet Isaiah when he frees the woman caught in adultery, encourages her to go…and from now on, to sin no more’ (cf. Jn 8:1-11)

Beloved People of God, we ought to learn to leave the past to the mercy of our forgiving God. He does not condemn nor spurn any humbled contrite heart, anyone who comes to him in sincere repentance and with a broken heart. Indeed, what the Lord said to the woman caught in adultery, could still be heard and experienced by anyone who calls upon him. It remains relevant today. He says, ‘…neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more’. (cf. Jn 8:1-11). St. Paul knows this truth. He accepts it wholeheartedly. He teaches it too when he says, ‘…one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus’ (cf. Phil 3:8-14)

This message of forgiveness and mercy is for all of us. It is left for each person to answer. We pray that our response to the Lord is in the positive as we sincerely answer to ‘…behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? May we all be able to truly exclaim with the psalmist, ‘what great deeds the Lord worked for us! Indeed, we were glad’. These words of the Lord address us too, ‘I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise’ (cf Is 43:16-21)

Fr. Ted