MONDAY, April 19 (Alphege)

Matthew (1:1-17); 3:1-6. In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

As an adolescent, I got it wrong. Repentance came to mean taking all the fun out of life. Life, I believed, was not something to be feared, but enjoyed.

In this respect, my mind has not changed. I still believe that God means for us to enjoy life. But as for repentance, my early impression has been sharply altered. I now believe the call to repent to be not a wet blanket, but an invitation to hope. Thus, when John the Baptist cries, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near," I think of how important is the knowledge that we don't have to be locked into old ways of doing things and old patterns of behavior. I think of God, who, in the words of an oft-prayed prayer, raises up things which have been cast down, and makes new things which have grown old. And I think of that yearning in the heart for the birth of something completely new.

The call to repent is a doorway to hope. By God's grace, yesterday's sins are matters for confession. And forgiveness. What God wants is that we should embrace the hope that Christ brings with each new day. (1996)

PRAY for the Diocese of Central Ecuador (Province IX, USA)

Ps 25 * 9, 15; Exodus 18:13-27; 1 Peter 5:1-14

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