From Psalm 51:

“Take pity on me, Lord, in your mercy;
in your abundance of mercy wipe out my guilt.
Wash me ever more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know how guilty I am:
my sin is always before me.”

Each of us is a sinner, and we each have our sin constantly before us. This is an unavoidable fact of our human existence. If we are not careful, we can allow the weight of our sin and the distraction of our own vanity — which so often leads us into believing our sins are greater than God’s grace — to turn us away from God.

But God knows us better than we know ourselves. God knows our sins, and yet loves us without condition in the midst of them. God does not call us to be sinless. God calls us to be resolute in battling with sin, and to set aside our vanity and always turn to Her in humble contrition.

This simple posture of humility and penitence unlocks the essential and utterly amazing aspect of our relationship with Christ — that God constantly longs to reconcile us to Herself, and His grace is more powerful than any sin we could ever commit.

Lord God, give us the strength and integrity today to search within ourselves for anything which separates us from you. Then, in humility, let us lay these sins at your feet and humbly and gratefully accept your loving grace. Amen.