Hear My Voice!

The psalmist, reflecting on the depths of sin, pain, and suffering, concludes that his only hope is God’s infinite mercy. A plaintive cry pours out from the depths of his heart. He cries out for mercy because he knows that healing and expiation come only from God.

Often, we try to hide or run away from the pain caused by sin. We reject or try to ignore it, but there is no expiation and healing without confession and repentance. Sin brings shame, which prompts us to hide. Human behavior has been like this since the expulsion from Paradise.

The Good News is that through Jesus Christ, God opened the way for us to be purified, healed, and forgiven. All those sins that remain secret oppress us. Hidden sin allows shame to nest in our hearts and rule us. And the sins that we bring to the light with confession, placing it before God, are dispersed like darkness by the rays of God's life-giving light.

Let us open our hearts before God through self-examination, call out to the Lord in confession like a psalmist, and ask for healing by trusting in His loving mercy.