15 January 2013 Effectiveness of the Sacrament of Penance In the Old Testament the Messiah was described as the shepherd who would come to care lovingly for his sheep, binding up their wounds and healing the sick. (cf Isaiah, 61:1 et seq; Ezekiel, 34:16 et seq) To seek what was lost, to call sinners, to give his life as a ransom for many. (cf Lk 19:10) As prophesied, it is He who “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows ...” (Isaiah, 53:4 et seq) Christ cures all our infirmities, sometimes acting directly in our soul: “I will, be clean” (Mt 8:3); keep going, be more humble, don’t be worried. Always when there is grave sin, Our Lord says, “Go and show yourselves to the priests” (Lk 17:14). Go to the Sacrament of Penance where the soul finds the opportune medicine. “By reflecting on the function of this Sacrament, the conscience of the Church discovers within it, as well as its judicial character, a medicinal character. ‘I want to cure, not to accuse’ St Augustine used to say, referring to this pastoral practice of penance ... thanks to the medicine of Confession, the experience of sin does not degenerate into despair.” (John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, “Reconciliatio”) God, who directs the struggle, will certainly always encourage us and help us to begin again. “... an army Chief on the battlefield has more respect for the soldier who, having once given way to flight, returns and attacks the enemy bravely than for the soldier who never turned tail, but neither ever performed any act of valour.” (St Gregory the Great, “Homilies on the Gospels”, 4, 4) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:20-22 Children of God -- Divine filiation Awareness of our divine filiation gives meaning to our life. “I have been set by him as a king on Sion, his holy mountain, to tell of his decrees. The Lord said to me: ‘You are my son, today I have begotten you’.” (Ps 2:6-7) “The kindness of God our Father has given us his Son to be our king ... ‘You are my son’: the words are addressed to Christ, and to you and me if we decide to become other Christs, Christ himself.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 185) Divine filiation has a central position in the preaching of the Gospel. It is presented as a reality of God’s love for men. “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (Jn 3:1) Jesus Christ constantly revealed this truth to his disciples. He taught them to talk to God as their Father (cf Mt 6:9); explained sanctity in terms of a son imitating his father (cf Mt 5:48). In many parables he depicted God as the father. Particularly moving is the parable of the prodigal son. We enter into the intimacy of the Blessed Trinity through sanctifying grace without changing our nature as creatures through the gift of divine filiation. (cf F Ocariz, “Awareness of our Divine Filiation”, Pamplona, 1985) God makes us his children. Divine filiation effectively transforms our inmost being. That is why “God sent his Son, born of woman so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying Abba! Father! So you are no longer a slave but a Son, and if a son then an heir.” (cf Gal 4:4-7) “Our Lord gained for us the most precious Gift, the Holy Spirit, who makes us cry out ‘Abba Father!’, who identifies us with Christ and makes us children of God. ‘You are my Son.’ Not a stranger, not a well-treated servant, not a friend -- that would be a lot already. A son! He gives us free access to treat him with a son’s piety -- I would even say with the boldness and daring of a son whose Father cannot deny him anything.” (cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 185) “The Christian is a sower of joy, a communicator of gladness; thus he achieves great things. Joy is one of the most irresistible powers in the world; brings about calm; soothes away anger, wins people over. He who is cheerful is a natural apostle. A cheerful countenance attracts men to God, showing them what the presence of God produces within the soul. [Thus] ... the Holy Spirit gives us the advice, ‘Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength’ ”(Neh 8:10). (M V Bernadot, “The Eucharist and the Trinity”, Madrid) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 3:7-9; 12 Spreading the Faith “Seek refuge with the Blessed Virgin, Mother of Good Counsel, so that your lips may never utter any offence against God.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Furrow”, 944) Let Yourselves Be Reconciled with God The call to reconciliation ought to have particular resonance and force in our hearts and consciences. If we are really disciples and confessors of Christ -- who reconciled man with God -- we cannot live without seeking such interior reconciliation for our part too. We must not remain in sin and fail to make efforts at finding the way again which leads to the Father’s house, where He is always awaiting our return. The Church calls us [especially] during Lent to look for this way: “We implore you, in Christ’s name be reconciled with God.” (2 Cor 5:20) Only by being reconciled with God in Christ’s name can we taste how good the Lord is (Ps 34:9), by trying for ourselves, experimentally, as it were. It is not of God’s severity that confessors throughout the world, those where men and women reveal their sins, speak; they speak rather of his merciful bounty. How many approach the confessional, sometimes after many years’ absence, bearing the weight of mortal sins and, as they depart from it, find the desired relief? They find joy and peace of conscience, which they could not find anywhere else. No one actually has the power to free us from our sin; God alone has that power. And the person who obtains such remission receives the grace of a new life of the spirit, which God alone can grant us in his infinite goodness. “When the afflicted called out, the Lord heard, and from his distress he saved him.” (Ps 34:7) Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, p136 Contrition for sin Contrition makes us forget ourselves and make our way to God. Our falls ought not to discourage us. Deep contrition always brings peace. ‘Go in peace’ are the very words the priest says to us after forgiving us our sins. Contrition is also a sign of the depth of our love and calls down God’s mercy upon us. As Isaiah prophesies: “This is the man to whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite in spirit.” (Is 66:2) Thus our worst defects and failings ought not to dishearten us, even if they are many and frequent. Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, the “Refuge of sinners”, that she win for us from her Son a sincere sorrow for our sins and a deep and effective appreciation of the Sacrament of Penance. We must pray to God for perseverance in our effort to be holy and reach His love. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 3:583-4, 588 • Lady of the Portico, at Rome, where an image is seen which is said to have been brought from heaven by an angel to Blessed Galla, widow of the consul Symmaclius. (Bethlehem Observer Historical Calendar) • Our Lady of Porch (Rome). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of Porch / Portico. Rome. ["where an image is seen, said to have been brought from heaven by an angel to Bl Gall, widow of of the consul Symmachus. (Ex Monumentia S. Mariea in Portico.)"]. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of the Crops. Syria. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady of Banneux. Belgium. 1933. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (http://mariedenazareth.com.)