SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX, ABBOT AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH – 20th AUGUST
August 20, 2024
MONTHLY DEVOTIONAL FOR 20 AUGUST
August 20, 2024
20 August, 2024
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments”. “Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and he relents from sending calamity.
Joel 2:12-13
Gracious and Merciful Father, as we reflect on your call to return to you with all our hearts, we are reminded of your deep and unending love for us. You do not seek outward displays or empty rituals, but you desire true repentance—hearts that are broken and contrite before you. We come before you now, acknowledging our need for your grace and mercy. Lord, teach us to approach you with genuine humility, not merely rending our garments but rending our hearts in sincere repentance.
Help us to embrace the spiritual disciplines of fasting, weeping, and mourning. May these acts purify our intentions and align our hearts with your will. You are a God who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and for this, we are eternally grateful. In our weakness and failure, you offer us forgiveness and invite us back into your loving arms. Let us never take your grace for granted but respond to it with lives that seek to honor and glorify you.
As we return to you, may we experience the fullness of your compassion and the depth of your love. Transform us, O Lord, from the inside out, so that our lives may reflect the beauty of your holiness. We surrender all to you, trusting in your promise to restore, renew, and lead us into the abundance of life that only you can provide. In the name of Jesus, our Savior, we pray. Amen
