Today is March 31, Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent.
We read at today’s Mass, “Thus says the Lord: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind.” (Is 65:17).
The past is something that we must each contend with. Even though the past does not exist, it still affects us. There are different kinds of things we remember: joyful moments, formative experiences, unfortunate and sad situations… but nothing compares to those things we regret.
Each person striving for holiness must come to terms with the regret of the ways we’ve failed in the past. Perhaps we were great sinners, like St. Augustine, and find the tears to weep for our sins. Maybe we simply regret wasting time growing in holiness. Whatever the case, we must contend with the past and put it in its place.
Forgetting the dread of the past
The Lord says the past “shall not be remembered or come to mind.” Is this a naïve dream? No! In fact, it already happens in a small way each time we go to confession. In the confessional, God obliterates our sin and forms more of the promised new creation in our hearts. Leaving the confessional, our sin is gone and our relationship with God is stronger.
While this is true, going to confession does not mean we forget our sins. We remember them all too well! But now we see them in the greater context of God’s mercy. We understand our own weakness in the light of God’s love for us as the new creation is worked out within our hearts. God identifies us as sons and daughters, not as sinners. Once we understand ourselves as God does, we also will forget the dread of the past and look hopefully to the future.
God is creating something new within you. Your past should not hold you back.
Let us pray,
O God, who renew the world through mysteries beyond all telling, grant, we pray, that your Church may be guided by your eternal design and not be deprived of your help in this present age. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
