Are You Missing the Mark?

I went to morning mass today. When I say that it reminds me of Nana and I smile! I never understood growing up why she went to daily mass, wasn't Sundays good enough? LOL - Well, during Lent I've decided to try and attend daily morning mass if I work from home. Last Friday came and went and I missed it, my friend Carol text me with "we missed you at mass today" gotta love those who hold you accountable. I felt bad that I made a commitment to God, and on my first opportunity I missed the mark. Which brings me to my point.

I often miss the mark (bullseye), I am quick to anger and slow to forgive, I make commitments that I don't keep and I am far from perfect! But, I'm not a bad person, I don't intentionally do these things and I certainly haven't killed anyone!

The reading today was from Ezekiel 18 'if the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die.'
And, the gospel was from Matthew 5 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell."

Of course the scripture says it all, but Fr. Jim's sermon put it in perspective and was aimed right at me!

He equated our attempts to be perfect to hitting the bullseye dead on; we aim for the bullseye, but we will never hit it, as we are human and not perfect. He brought up mortal and venial sins, the seriousness of the offense, etc, everything we learnt in Kindergarten, right? But no matter what the sin or attempt at perfection, we often miss the mark and depending on our offense, we may be closer to the bullseye at times. He went on to say, that if you kill someone or you are angry at someone, same thing, still not perfect (bullseye) but somewhat closer to the mark with the angry part and further away with the murder part. Of course, he said we could try day after day to be perfect, yet that will not save us, only God's grace can do that, but the point... the point is, that whether we are angry with our brother or actually kill someone we are far from the bullseye and far from pleasing our God. So, we should aim at the bullseye, recognize we will never hit it, but the closer we come the better. But, the final judgment is God's and nothing but the love of God can save us or make us perfect.

So, in my efforts to apply scripture and Fr. Jim's encouraging message, I have to forgive myself for missing the mark by not attending mass last Friday or being quick to anger and slow to forgive and continue to strive to be closer to the bullseye.