Good morning,

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective.”

That line from St. Paul in the first reading really stood out to me this morning. Paul knew who he had been and what he had done, but he also knew what the mercy and grace of God had done in him.

Then in the Gospel, we see the sinful woman come to Jesus. She doesn’t come with pride. She knows she is a sinner. She simply comes to Him, and He shows her mercy.

I know my sins. I know the things I struggle with over and over. And sometimes I think, Lord, surely You have to be getting tired of this. How many times am I going to come back asking forgiveness for the same things?

But again and again He shows me mercy.

I think that is what God is reminding me today. I have to go to Him without pride, ask for His mercy, receive His forgiveness, and then allow His grace to keep working in me. Like Paul, “by the grace of God I am what I am.”

And that makes the Psalm fit perfectly: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.”

He is good. He is merciful. His grace is not ineffective, even in me.

So my prayer today is, Lord, take away my pride and give me the faith to keep coming back to You. Help me receive Your mercy and allow Your grace to change me into the man You created me to be. Then help me do what Jesus tells the woman at the end of today’s Gospel: “Go in peace.”

I pray each of you gets the graces you need today to do the same.

Keep up the good fight.

I’m praying for you. Please pray for me.