Facing Mercy, Night 1: God Has Been Pursuing You All Along

On the first night of Facing Mercy, Fr. Ryan Adorjan began with a truth many people quietly carry: the voice of condemnation is loud. Before we sin, the enemy tells us it’s no big deal. After we sin, he tells us we are unforgivable. But Fr. Ryan reminded everyone that this accusing voice is not the voice of God.

Instead, God’s voice is mercy.

Fr. Ryan walked through Genesis 3, the story of the fall, and showed how sin wounds every part of our lives. It breaks our relationship with God, with one another, and even with ourselves. Sin brings fear, hiding, blame, confusion, and division.

And yet… God does not come storming into the garden in rage.
He comes looking for Adam and Eve. Calmly. Gently. Asking:

“Where are you?”

That question still echoes today.

One of the most profound insights of the night was this:
God’s mercy is not pretending sin does not matter.

Mercy is not shrugging and saying everything is fine.
True mercy is God meeting us where we are, loving us there, and refusing to leave us there.

It is a mercy that challenges, heals, restores, and walks with us toward freedom.

Fr. Ryan then zoomed out to the big story of salvation.

From the very beginning, God created us in a plan of sheer goodness.
We were made for communion with Him.
We were made to share in His life.

But sin distorts that.

Instead of living in reality as God created it, we begin to live in what he called a
“deep-seated, disordered desire for fantasy”
—a life centered on me instead of God.

But that is not who we are.

Again and again, Fr. Ryan returned to this truth:
You are not made for sin.
You are not made for the lies that trap you.
You are not made for the things that pull you away from God.

And then came the truth that filled the church:

“There is something more original to you than your original sin.”

Beneath our wounds… beneath our failures… beneath all the ways we have wandered…
the image of God remains.

God has not abandoned you.
He still sees His image in you.
He still calls you His son or daughter.
He still desires to bring life out of what feels dead.

This is the heart of redemption:

God does not erase your story.
He enters into it… and transforms it.

The places you’ve struggled, suffered, or fallen—
in His hands—can become places of healing, compassion, and new life.

Fr. Ryan reminded us that in Baptism, we became beloved sons and daughters of God.
And with that identity come promises:
✨ He will always love you
✨ He will never abandon you
✨ He will always forgive you
✨ He has prepared a place for you in His house

The night ended with a simple but powerful invitation:
Come back to Confession.

Not out of fear…
but because God is not waiting to condemn you—
He is waiting to heal you.

The Heart of Night 1

• God created you out of love
• Sin wounded the world—but God did not walk away
• He has been pursuing you from the beginning
• You are not defined by your worst moment
• There is something deeper in you than sin
• Mercy is God meeting you there—and leading you home

Don’t Miss Night 2

Tonight, we move from God’s story… to your story.

We’ll face the places where we are wounded, rediscover our identity as beloved sons and daughters, and learn how mercy doesn’t just heal us—it sends us outward with hope.

🕖 7:00pm inside the Church

Come as you are.
Bring a friend.
Even if you missed Night 1—tonight is for you.