April 6, 2020 Reflection – Return to my Son!

“Dear children! I am with you all these years to lead you to the way of salvation.  Return to my Son; return to prayer and fasting…”   

She has been with us for a long time, 38 years and 9 months. Every day for all those years she has visited Ivan, Marija and Vicka. For many years she also came once a month to Mirjana. And she continues to come to Jakov and Ivanka, and now Mirjana, once a year. That is a long time, by earthly standards. And she has given us messages at varying intervals throughout that time. Her messages and her presence in Medjugorje have been a source of conversion and holiness for many millions of people.

But still it seems, we are not finished. We might even have wandered away, gotten distracted, lost our initial enthusiasm, because her next words are:   

“Return to my Son; return to prayer and fasting…” 

 

This is the prayer of King David after the terrible sin he committed, taking another man’s wife, Bathsheba, and arranging for the death of her husband, Uriah. David had been in a deep relationship with God for quite some time when he committed this sin. It was a terrible fall and happened when ‘David should have known better.’ But this is the amazing thing about Our Lord. He has so much mercy and forgiveness for us, even when we should have known better. So, this is how David prayed after he realized his great sin. We can notice that David never stops believing that God will hear his prayer. He has such faith in the mercy of God. And we should too!!   

   

Psalm 51

(To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba)

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to thy steadfast love;
according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
and done that which is evil in thy sight,
so that thou art justified in thy sentence
and blameless in thy judgment.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Fill me with joy and gladness;
let the bones which thou hast broken rejoice.

Hide thy face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence,
and take not thy holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of thy salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors thy ways,
and sinners will return to thee.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
thou God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of thy deliverance.

O Lord, open thou my lips,
and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.

For thou hast no delight in sacrifice;
were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased.

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Do good to Zion in thy good pleasure;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
then wilt thou delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on thy altar.