WRITING PROMPT    Guilt can be paralyzing. Often the hardest person to forgive is ourselves. But in this passage from Isaiah, God reminds us that we have to be receptive to mercy, what Pope Francis calls the “second name of love.”  We need to accept mercy in order to receive “the good things of the land.”

Think of someone you know who, as evidenced by their self-destructive behaviors, anger, or distance from others, needs to be reminded that God’s mercy is whiter than even the most “crimson” sin, bigger than the deepest guilt.  Write a letter to that person telling them why they are worthy of God’s love and forgiveness–even if that person is yourself.