Lectio: Collect Prayer, take two

Almighty ever-living God, who in the abundance of your kindness surpass the merits and desires of those who entreat you, pour out your mercy upon us to pardon what conscience dreads and to give what prayer does not dare ask. (Daily collect prayer)

Pur out your mercy on us to pardon what conscience dreads

Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4)

Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29)

We all carry the wounds of sin. Our own sin and the sin of others, directly and indirectly. Think ripple effects (one of the earliest reflections I shared over four years ago). The British have a saying, “Keep Calm and Carry On.” I think that we spend much of our time trying to just “carry on.” We bury to protect ourselves. We try to cope using the mechanism of forgetting. Burying and forgetting, in essence, “carrying on” is a tool of the enemy. We never truly forget what is etched on our hearts and souls. This prayer calls this truth to mind. There is but one resolution, one cure, one true coping mechanism: God’s surpassing mercy.

I am the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)

We all have “dreads” of the conscience. Those are the words which really hit home that evening in Mass. What our conscious dreads is what we have hidden, supressed, or ignored. This prayer is a prayer of consolation and not condemnation. God desires to bring His mercy into what we dread. He seeks to console and to heal.

For they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)

God desires to go where we dread.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. (Revelation 3:20)

We are each invited to invite He Who Takes Away The Sins of the World in. What is Jesus seeking to heal in your life? What sin of your own doing or another’s have you been carrying for far too long? Spend time with His Words provided above and in prayer ask Him to show you what He is ready to heal so that you can truly carry on.