March 17
Like Joseph, the son of Jacob, Christ the Lord came to look for his brothers, mankind. He came from the eternal Father and brought food with him. But his people did not want to have anything to do with him. They took him for a dreamer, a madman, possessed by the devil. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. They went further still. Because their hard hearts were full of hatred and ingratitude, they said, "This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance."

“Even though we are sorry for it, we are not innocent of Christ's Death. The sins of all men – including our own – were what nailed him to the Cross.” St Josemaría

Our sins made our Lord's Passion more painful and harder to bear. We ought to be fully aware of this truth and feel personally responsible for the events that happened in Calvary. We cannot hide in the crowd. Instead, we must make reparation and atonement: love is paid back with love.

God invites us to return to Him at once, quickly, like children, even if the weight of our repeated rebelliousness overwhelms us. Awareness that God is our Father brings joy to our conversion: we feel that we are returning to our Father's house.

Our Lord expects specific, sincere deeds of penance, and the best penance is to do what Jesus Christ is asking of us at every moment.

Our Blessed Lady helps us to be more generous in our effort to make reparation, which improves our self-giving.