NOTES for Dan 9:1-19
Today we read the penitential prayer of the prophet Daniel. Daniel is a man who remained faithful to God through the hardest trials. In essence, he has every right to say: "Lord, see how much I have endured for Your name, and I have remained faithful to You." But Daniel looks at the situation differently. He does not separate himself from his people. "We, Your people, have sinned before You and have departed from Your commandments." Daniel turns to the Lord on behalf of the whole people, who may be occupied with their own affairs and not thinking about repentance at all. On behalf of all he says: "Righteousness belongs to You, and shame is on our faces." He does not check what expression is on the faces of those around him; he brings the Lord his own repentance, his own shame for everyone. And God is pleased with this prayer of Daniel.
In today's reading the Lord calls us not to remember how many times we personally acted correctly, but to receive today's state of things as our own pain and our own shame, and to bring Him our repentance for everything that has happened and is happening in our families, in the Church, in the country, and in the world. And if we do not look for the guilty and separate ourselves from others, He will have the opportunity to act.