The other morning I was praying before Mass and I had some thoughts that I would like to share. I was offering all of myself to the Lord. Specifically that morning I was offering him all of my failures, my shortcomings and imperfections. I have heard great saints talk about how their shortcomings is all they have that is truly theirs. Anyway, then I started to feel that maybe I shouldn’t be offering such “trash” to the Lord. Then this hit me.
It has happened often that one of my children got something that needed to be assembled. They approached the assembly with their best efforts and with enthusiasm. Sometimes, that assembly did not work out so well. In those cases they would bring the botched project to their dad. My heart always received this mangled project with joy and love. I was delighted that my child turned to me, and did not let shame or pride stop them.
If I, if we, with all of our sinfulness and shortcomings react with love and kindness toward our children, how much more will Our Father? God does not expect us to bring Him perfect gifts. He delights in the gifts from our hearts. We certainly have an obligation to make our gifts as pleasing as possible, but it is our love for Him that delights Our Father. I think God is more delighted in our loving efforts than in their success.
Let us not be afraid to offer everything we have and everything we are to the Father. The gift we bring is worthy, and it is worthy because of God’s surpassing love for each of us. Let us not buy into Satan’s lies that try to convince us that we have to be perfect before we can approach Daddy. Let us approach Our Father with confidence and love. Let us repent of our sins and let God heal our troubled hearts.
— Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected] For more information concerning the events of this office, visit us at mobilefaithformation.org