by george m. franko

Turn back to God

1st Sunday of Lent—March 1

“C” Readings: Deut. 26:4-10 • Rom. 10:8-13 • Luke 4:1-13

Title: Be Converted from Sin and the World

Purpose: to explain conversion or metanoia as: (1) a turning away from sin; (2) a turning to Gospel living; (3) a continuing process that is shown by our different attitude, our different lifestyle, our being and acting the person God wants us to be.

    “The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose” (Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream). It’s true. We just heard him. To use the Word of God against God is blasphemous, to ignore it, is almost as bad.

    Our Lord’s prayer and fasting for 40 days in the desert, the temptations of the devil and our Lord’s responses introduce us to Lent. Most of us could easily recall the challenges the devil hurled at Jesus. I think fewer could quote the responses that Jesus made to the devil. They are important. They are quotations from Scripture: “Not on bread alone shall man live” (Deut. 8:3), “You shall do homage to the Lord your God; him alone shall you adore” (Deut. 6:13), “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (Deut. 6:16). In other words, we depend on God, we should worship him alone, we should not provoke him by sin. In a few words they state the purpose of Lent and lead me to my subject—conversion from sin to God.

    Many of you received blessed ashes this past Wednesday. This was a good beginning for Lent. Nevertheless we must keep in mind that blessed ashes are not a substitute for the penitential discipline of Lent but an invitation to it. In our time the Church has reduced obligatory fasting and abstinence to a minimum. There are only two days of fast and abstinence, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The other Fridays in Lent are abstinence alone. Those of us 14 years of age and older are obliged to abstain from meat—those between the ages of 18 and 59 are also obliged to fast. These Church laws are not to be taken lightly. The Church explains the purpose of these acts of self-denial when she prays: “Through our observance of Lent, (Lord) you correct our faults and raise our minds to you, you help us grow in holiness” (Lenten Preface IV). St. Peter Chrysologus explains it in these words: “Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated” (Liturgy of the Hours, II, p. 231). Some downplay such penitential practices. We on the other hand readily admit that outward acts of self-denial should not be practiced “while neglecting justice and love of God,” as the Lord said—but he could also say about them what he said about some religious practices of the Jews: “These are the things you should practice, without omitting the others” (Luke 11:42).

    All our acts of self-denial and charity, all our prayers and devotions during Lent, of course, are directed to the purpose of Lent, drawing closer to God. Giving God first place in our lives requires a radical change of mind and heart. St. Paul exhorts us: “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God’s will, what is good, pleasing and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). This “change of thinking” leading to a “change of heart” is expressed by the word metanoia—by which we usually understand reform, repentance or conversion.

    Conversion to God should come naturally. It is not like the return of a slave to his master, or like seeking shelter in the home of a stranger. The Psalmist pleads with us: “Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us” (Ps. 95:6). Yet conversion to God on our own would have been impossible. This is why we needed a Savior. We read in Scripture: “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). Therefore Christ’s call to conversion was an essential part of his proclamation of the kingdom of God. It was addressed to all of us. The first and fundamental conversion in our lives takes place by faith in the Gospel and by Baptism. It is at this time that we renounce evil, receive the promise of salvation and can believe in the forgiveness of sins and the gift of new life.

    Why am I talking about conversion to you, baptized and confirmed Catholics? Are we all not converted already? Of course! We would not be in church otherwise. But what does our conversion to God consist of in daily life? Perhaps it is an awareness of God and the need to worship him. But then what about the awareness every minute of our lives of his presence and our dependence upon him? Signs of this dependence may be our daily prayers and the regular reception of the sacraments. Is there more? Yes! Conversion is not only a turning away from sin to God but also a drawing closer to him. Jesus emphasized the first and most important commandment of God: “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). Heart, soul, mind must be perfectly converted to God.

    So there is another conversion and this is our immediate concern during Lent. This second conversion is an uninterrupted task for us and the whole Church which is at once holy and always in need of purification. It is part of our Christian life because redemption, baptism and the other sacraments do not abolish the weakness of our human nature and our inclination to sin. We call this concupiscence. This second conversion is essential insofar as it insures, with the grace of God, victory for the baptized in the continuing struggle against the enemies of our salvation.

    This Lent with its challenge of conversion takes on new meaning as we prepare for the third millennium, the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. In his three year plan of preparation for this Jubilee, our Holy Father has asked us to dedicate this year to the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel we heard that Jesus “full of the Holy Spirit . . . was led by the Spirit into the desert” where after prayer and fasting he overcame the temptations of the devil. May that same Holy Spirit lead us to overcome sin and temptation and help us to draw closer to God. It would be well to recall that there is only one unforgivable sin—the sin against the Holy Spirit. This sin takes several forms—despair, presumption, denial of revealed truth, refusal to turn to God and final impenitence. An old proverb tells us “Forewarned, forearmed!”

    On this the first Sunday of Lent then we should ask ourselves what could possibly prevent us from turning to God—with the humility of the Prodigal Son, the love of Mary Magdalene and the deep sorrow of Peter? Attachment to sin and the occasions of sin could do this. There is also another insidious deterrent to conversion—the loss of the sense of sin. This leads some Catholics to think that they live in a kind of plastic bubble or isolation chamber. Surely they are aware of how they suffer from the injustice and unkindness of others, and even more from violence and crime in society, but for some ungodly reason they feel that their own actions do not harm others. They do not deny the existence of evil but they seem to absolve people from responsibility for it. Taken to its logical conclusion, this attitude would deny the need for redemption and the need of conversion. What is apparently the opposite is the attitude that mankind did indeed need redemption, but once Jesus redeemed us “it’s all over but the shouting.” In practice the two attitudes are the same in leaving no room for conversion in daily life. There is no doubt that some Catholics just “feel saved” and are convinced that they are not “great sinners” and so fail to see the need for the Sacrament of Reconciliation or the penitential discipline of Lent. St. Paul’s admonition: “Work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation” (Phil. 2:12) falls on their deaf ears.

    Our Lenten journey of conversion then should lead us to live the Gospel with greater zeal and dedication. This should be the goal not only for Lent but for life. The essence of Gospel living was expressed by St. Paul in these words: “The life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me . . . it is a life of faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Growth in holiness demands a continuing struggle against the concupiscence of the eyes, the concupiscence of the flesh and the pride of life.

    The Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent reminds us of the temptations of Christ in the desert. By these three temptations the devil was appealing to the threefold weakness of human nature. Jesus resisted them quickly and decisively. It is not so easy for us. It is only by shoring up our human weaknesses that we draw closer to God. Temptation is a tug-of-war between doing God’s will and doing our own. It was in the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus experienced this temptation and so he asked his disciples to watch and pray and reminded them: “The spirit is willing but nature is weak” (Matt. 26:41).

    The Church, learning from the lives of her saints, continues to offer us a program for conversion. This program calls for prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Parish Lenten devotions provide opportunities for prayer. Fasting with the Church is not only an act of obedience but an exercise of will power. Almsgiving is just plain Christian love and generosity toward those in need, especially in our community.

    May you have a happy Lent. The better Lent we make for ourselves the better Easter we will have. We shall be able to celebrate Christ’s resurrection by rising from whatever sins we may have committed—and perhaps just from lukewarmness—to a more fervent life of love of God and neighbor.

Suggested reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1427-1439, 1848, 1864, 2041-2043.

A sign of hope

2nd Sunday of Lent—March 8

“C” Readings: Gen. 15:5-12. 17-18 • Phil. 3:17–4:1 • Luke 9:28-36

Title: The Scandal of the Cross

Purpose: (1) to explain the cross in Jesus’ life and in the early Church; (2) to explain the cross in our lives; (3) to encourage carrying our cross.

    Just as the First Sunday of Lent asked us to consider the temptations of Christ in the desert, so the Second Sunday invites us to reflect on the transfiguration of Christ on Mt. Tabor. In the Gospel we heard what happened on that mountain. The event was not meant by Christ to strike James, John and Peter with awe. Our Lord was preparing them for what they would experience during Passion Week as they saw their Master suffer and die. The Church wishes us to remember this event since we share in Christ’s passion and death and to contemplate the marvelous effects of grace in our souls. The cross plays a prominent role in both—what Jesus did for us in Passion Week and what he continues to do for us through life. The cross of Jesus is more than a symbol. It is a mystery and it is my topic today.

    We are in the second year of our preparation for the third millennium of Christianity. This year is dedicated to the Holy Spirit. May he help us as we continue our Lenten journey. May he help us better to understand the Paschal Mystery and better to live it.

    The cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. It is not hard to understand why. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. The cross proclaims this truth. The cross, however, is not restricted to Good Friday because it was with Jesus from the very moment he humbled himself to take our human nature. His birth led to the murder of the Holy Innocents. His life in Nazareth concealed his divinity and caused his contemporaries to see him only as the son of Mary and Joseph. Rejection by his own people caused him to weep over Jerusalem. There was nothing bitter in the human condition that Jesus did not experience on his way of the cross—imprisonment without cause, betrayal, flight of friends, cruel torture, false witnesses, political persecution, ridicule, unjust conviction, weakness of body and even the feeling of abandonment by his Father (John 19:5). The death of our Lord on the cross was the climax of a life of suffering. It showed what people are capable of in causing suffering and what others must suffer as a result.

    The cross, however, takes its principal meaning for us from the fact that our redemption was accomplished through the death of Christ on it. Nevertheless, even this has become a problem for some. They ask why did God permit his own Son to suffer such an agonizing death? Is God so vengeful and merciless that he demands “a sacrificial lamb?” Others wonder how the suffering and death of Jesus can help us in our suffering and guilt. They ask what does it profit us that we are redeemed? In answer we profess our faith in Jesus as Peter did: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Jesus laid down his life freely and he was convinced that his death was redemptive. At the Last Supper our Lord solemnly proclaimed that his blood would be “poured out on behalf of many” (Mark 14:24). For us who believe, Christ’s death was not an execution, his cross a gibbet. His cross was an altar, his death was a sacrifice “so that sins may be forgiven.” Christ’s victory over sin was also a victory over death, for death came to us as a consequence of sin. During the Easter Vigil the Church rejoices: “For Christ has ransomed us with his blood, and paid for us the price of Adam’s sin to our eternal Father!”

    For Christians therefore the cross becomes a sign of salvation. It accompanies them from baptism to death. Sacraments and blessings are given with the tracing of the cross. The cross brings to a climax the infinite love of God for mankind which began with the incarnation of his Son. Little wonder that St. Paul considers the preaching of the cross to be a summary of the Good News. Nothing is necessary but to know “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).

    Still we must not overlook the scandal of the cross. The sign of salvation becomes also the sign of contradiction and raises questions which arise quickly when we face prolonged suffering, incurable disease, misfortune and, of course, approaching death. St. Paul acknowledged this when he wrote to the Corinthians: “Yes, Jews demand ‘signs’ and Greeks look for ‘wisdom,’ but we preach Christ crucified—a stumbling block to Jews, and absurdity to Gentiles; but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:22-24). There is no substitute for faith. The cross is the sign demanded by some and the wisdom demanded by others, but a person must see it with the eyes of faith. The alternative is paralyzing fatalism and despair.

    The cross is a sign of hope because it led to Christ’s victory over sin and death. It is a sign not only of his death but also of his resurrection and glorification. In the hour of his death Jesus declared triumphantly: “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Then and there victory over the world and the forces opposed to God was declared. Sin, injustice and falsehood were exposed, God’s conquering love, justice and truth were revealed. “Thus did God disarm the principalities and powers. He made a public show of them, and leading them off captive, triumphed in the person of Christ” (Col. 2:15).

    The cross of Jesus has a direct personal meaning for the Christian. The following of Christ is possible only by carrying the cross. It is the way we must travel through life. It explains the misfortunes that come and even the sins we fall into. Carrying our cross as Jesus did means rising after every fall and never running away from it. In any event the cross will come into our lives. It is better to accept Christ’s invitation: “If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross and follow in my steps” (Mark 8:34). Indeed the very essence of our worship in the Eucharist is expressed by the cross as St. Paul says: “Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). Truly we should be able to say with St. Paul: “Continually we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus” (2 Cor. 4:10).

    The cross makes its appearance in many guises—persecution, slander, poverty, servitude, unrewarding labor, anxiety, sorrow, loneliness, sickness and death. It is up to us to recognize it. It helps us better understand the meaning of life and the problems we encounter day by day. It may not dissipate all “gloom” but it can overcome the “doom.”

    Finally we must remember that our solidarity with all our brothers and sisters in the world brings certain responsibilities. Sharing in the cross of Jesus commits us to the task of alleviating suffering wherever and whenever it is possible. There will always be suffering in the world as the Lord said after his anointing at Bethany: “The poor you will always have with you” (Matt. 26:11), and in so-called “hopeless cases” it is only the cross that brings comfort and hope. This does not mean that we should assume a triumphalistic attitude toward misery, nor a defeatist. Sometimes our best efforts fall short and there will always be need for prayer by the suffering and for the suffering. Let us not forget that the beatitudes are addressed to the poor, sorrowing, lowly, oppressed and persecuted (Matt. 5:2f). On the Day of Judgment Christ promises to identify with the hungry, displaced, naked, sick and unjustly detained (Matt. 25:15f) and so the mystery of the cross should make us more aware of suffering which is so prevalent and yet so often ignored in our society. The cross should prepare us to suffer too. We cannot hope to escape all suffering in life. For this reason the cross is not only a summary of the Gospel but also the way to live it. Lent is a God-given opportunity to see in the cross a “guiding light” so that with St. Paul we may learn “to cope with every circumstance—how to eat well or go hungry, to be well provided for or do without” (Phil. 4:12).

    The Roman persecutions came to an end in the year 312 with the arrival of Constantine before the walls of Rome. He came to restore peace to a troubled empire. When he was approaching Rome, he saw, as he later assured his biographer, a cross of light in the sky, around which were the words: “In hoc signo vinces—in this sign you shall conquer.” Constantine became the first Christian Roman emperor. “In this sign” he did conquer. “In this sign” we too can conquer all the foes of our salvation—temptations, sins and yes, even ourselves. We must. “In this sign” we hope to meet Christ and say: “Master, how good it is for us to be here.”

Suggested reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church, 312, 601-603, 617, 620, 623.

Repentance for sins

3rd Sunday of Lent—March 15

“C” Readings: Exod. 3:1-8. 13-15 • 1 Cor. 10:1-6. 10-12 • Luke 13:1-9

Title: The Need to be Reconciled with God

Purpose: to encourage (1) repentance for our sins and (2) timely and regular use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

    One of the problems the early Church faced was the postponement of baptism by persons who had been evangelized. The reason was this. Certain rigoristic tendencies arose in some Christian communities that refused absolution to those guilty of very grave sins. Since some Christians judged that they could not avoid serious sin after baptism they deferred their baptism to the time when death seemed imminent. It is hard to reconcile this attitude with the words of our Lord heard in today’s Gospel about the need to reform. It is still harder to understand why even now some Catholics postpone approaching the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We are all in need of constant reform. On this the Third Sunday of Lent, let us open our minds and hearts to this need of being reconciled to God.

    We hear more and more about the millennium these days. Seldom do we hear why it will be the third millennium. Many seem to want a celebration but do not know what to celebrate. They who see the millennium only as a change in numbering years are to be pitied. We look forward to the third Millennium of Christianity. We shall celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ two thousand years ago—of Christ who redeemed us by his passion and death and sent us his Holy Spirit. “God, the Father of mercies, through the death and the resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins.” In this year of preparation for the Third Millennium we turn to the Holy Spirit and ask help better to understand why he was “sent among us for the forgiveness of sins” and why this is so important.

    Reconciliation brings great joy. Even the angels rejoice over one repentant sinner (Luke 15:10). When friendly relationship is restored between persons who have been at odds, harmony returns and peace is restored. Reconciliation between mankind and God leads to even greater joy, but first we must understand that it was needed and we cannot see this without understanding sin and its consequences. Even before we consider personal sin and guilt there is the matter of Original Sin. Original Sin shows the need of reconciliation between mankind and God but only when we understand how in one man, Adam, all have sinned. St. Paul tells us “through one man sin entered the world and with sin death” (Rom. 5:12). Lent is a good time to reflect briefly on how Original Sin has affected us.

    Original Sin consisted in disobedience to an all-loving God. It caused mankind’s fall from grace and led to his estrangement from God. There was death, as St. Paul said, but there were other consequences as well. Everyone has experienced the struggle between the spirit and the flesh in his own person. There was the inclination to evil which soon spread through the world like some deadly disease. We recall how Cain murdered his brother, Abel. Violence and injustice became a plague for society. Original Sin also disturbed the order and harmony in nature which became subject to decay in its “slavery to corruption” and so “groaned in agony” awaiting renewal. Nature’s groaning reflected mankind’s yearning for a redeemer and the prophets sought to prepare God’s people for him. The redeemer was needed to restore mankind to God’s friendship.

    God, of course, revealed himself as a loving and forgiving Father from the beginning. He promised a Redeemer who would crush the power of the devil who had seduced our first parents and led them into rebellion against God. We heard one example of how God came to the rescue of his people in the First Reading. Mankind’s definitive reconciliation to God, however, was accomplished through the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. God forgave mankind’s sin and offered his friendship. Peace was restored in Christ and every person was offered the new life of grace. “O happy fault,” the Church sings on the Easter Vigil, “which gained for us so great a Redeemer!”

    We participate in Christ’s reconciling work by accepting the gift of faith and baptism and also by sharing in the life of the Church which was given the “ministry of reconciliation.” Still there is need for continuing reconciliation due to personal sins which not only offend God but also disrupt the harmony of the People of God. Serious sin, we know, is properly called mortal, or deadly, since it destroys the life of grace. Suffering and sorrow come to the world again because of our sins, and so reconciliation is always needed. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains how reconciliation of the sinner with God “leads . . . to other reconciliations, which repair the other breaches caused by sin” (C.C.C., 1469). Sin affects many, every sin does. The penitent is reconciled with himself in his inmost being, with his brethren whom he has offended, with the Church and with all creation. The ministry of reconciliation is so important that Christ instituted a special sacrament for this purpose, the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is through this sacrament that the baptized who have sinned can be reconciled with God and with the Church. For this reason it is called “the second plank after shipwreck.” The Church also teaches: “This sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after Baptism, just as Baptism is necessary for salvation for those who have not yet been reborn” (C.C.C., 980).

    There are roadblocks on the road to reconciliation. We live in a society which has been progressively de-Christianized. As a result people have lost the sense of personal guilt, sin and even of the need of reconciliation with God. Current thought often ascribes moral fault, and even serious crime to society rather than to the individual. If there is fault, it is the fault of others—of enemies, the past, nature, heredity. When a person denies personal responsibility he acts against that which makes him human, his reason and free will.

    This is why Christ called for conversion and penance. These were the conditions under which he offered salvation. We heard our Lord’s words in the Gospel: “But I tell you, you will all come to the same end—ruin—unless you begin to reform” (Luke 13:5). We are all in need of conversion, even those of us who are not conscious of serious sin, because St. John warns: “If we say, ‘We are free of the guilt of sin,’ we deceive ourselves” (1 John 2:8). In the Second Reading we heard St. Paul say: “Let anyone who thinks he is standing upright watch out lest he fall!”

    The prophets of old realized that the human heart is hard and slow to respond to God’s overtures and so they prayed that God would grant us a new heart. Conversion does not depend solely upon man. It is the work of God—it is the grace of a new beginning. In this sense conversion, penance and reconciliation become a life-long duty for every Christian. God, “rich in mercy,” continues to make reconciliation possible for the sinner. St. Ambrose declared that in the Church there are “water and tears—the water of baptism and the tears of penance.” This is true not only of individual sinners, but of the Church as a whole “which is always in need of being purified and incessantly pursues the path of penance and renewal” (The Church, 8).

    God who knew human nature and was “well aware of what was in man’s heart” (John 2:25), in his infinite mercy provided the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a means of resurrection to the life of grace after serious sin. It would be a pity if we were to ignore it, postpone it, refuse it. The priest who absolves the penitent says: “Through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace.” God does!

    Reconciliation with God is our concern but we cannot overlook our Lord’s words about reconciliation with our neighbor. He tells us: “If you bring your gift to the altar and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift at the altar, go first to be reconciled with your brother and then come and offer your gift” (Matt. 5:23-24). Now there is no reconciliation without forgiveness. This holds true for reconciliation with God as well as reconciliation with neighbor. This is why the Lord taught us to pray: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” St. Luke gives us an interesting footnote to the trial of Jesus: “Herod and Pilate, who had previously been set against each other, became friends from that day” (Luke 23:12). If the trial of Jesus, in some mysterious way, became the occasion of reconciliation between two enemies, should not his passion and death lead us to forgive injuries and forget grudges? The Rite of Peace before communion teaches us that reconciliation with neighbor comes before reconciliation with God.

Suggested reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church, 400, 980, 1422, 1440, 1468, 1469; Liturgy of the Hours, III, 445-446, 450-451.

We need forgiveness

4th Sunday of Lent—March 22

“C” Readings: Josh. 5:9-12 • 2 Cor. 5:17-21 • Luke 15:1-3. 11-32

Title: How a Catholic Receives Forgiveness of Sin

Purpose: (1) to explain the various ways of obtaining forgiveness and (2) the Sacrament of Reconciliation as the ordinary way; (3) to encourage use of this Sacrament now and regularly.

    We heard the parable of the Prodigal Son. Jesus did not give that name to the parable, nor did St. Luke who preserved it for us. Some prefer to call it the parable of “The Merciful Father,” but I think we should call it “The Two Ungrateful Sons.” The younger son was perhaps guilty of three capital sins—gluttony, sloth and lust. The elder son was full of the other four—pride, avarice, anger and envy. Both were blind to what their father had done for them, both took their inheritance for granted. We all could identify with one or the other of the sons and probably with both at some period of our lives. Our sins show ingratitude toward God and a lack of appreciation for our spiritual inheritance. The Lord gave the parable to answer the criticism: “this man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” He was not accusing anyone but inviting all sinners “to celebrate and rejoice” with him. This invitation is extended also to us because as St. Paul says in the Second Reading: “God, in Christ, was reconciling the world to himself, not counting men’s transgressions against them.” He entrusted to his Church the “ministry of reconciliation.” To explain this is my purpose.

    Only God can forgive sins and “God rich in mercy” desires all to be saved. Even in the Old Testament he showed himself to be a forgiving God. He often forgave the sins of his people in anticipation of Christ’s saving death. Jesus established his Church to continue his saving mission in the world. Since not all people enjoy full membership in the Church, even those “who through no fault of their own do not know the gospel of Christ or his Church, yet sincerely seek God” (The Church, 16) find salvation in the Church because of a certain membership by desire. To be saved, however, implies having sins forgiven and this always requires sorrow for sin. They have their sins forgiven by making a perfect act of contrition.

    Now, this may seem to be an easier way to obtain forgiveness for sins than that offered to professed members of the Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Confession of sins seems so much more difficult than simply making an act of perfect contrition. Nevertheless an act of perfect contrition means loving God “with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37), and loving your neighbor as yourself. Such a love is easier and more surely made in the Church with the benefit of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As a convert once said: “I became a Catholic that I might have my sins forgiven for sure.”

    As we read the Gospels we learn that Jesus often forgave sins. There is the cure of the paralytic at Capernaum. St. Mark vividly describes how some friends of a paralyzed man brought him to Jesus (Mark 2:1-12). They had a hard time getting him there and so had to let him down through a hole in the roof of the home where Jesus was teaching. Jesus first forgave the man’s sins and then cured him to prove “that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” We also learn that Jesus gave his power to forgive sins to his Church to exercise in his name. He promised this to Peter when he told him: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 16:19) and again to all the apostles (Matt. 18:18). Then on the day of his resurrection, Jesus appeared to the apostles and solemnly declared: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven . . . if you hold them bound, they are held bound” (John 20:22-23). Jesus thus instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

    It was clear to the apostles that they should exercise this power in the spirit of their Master. They did not have the power to read “the secrets of the heart” as did Jesus, and so they and the early Church required signs of conversion before they would exercise this marvelous power to forgive sins. Sorrow for sin, amends for sins, a firm resolution not to sin again and a confession of all serious sins were these signs. We must remember that this power to forgive sins was given to the Church and for the Church. It was given out of love for his Church. It was given so that members of the Church could love God and each other as he did. For this reason “Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1445).

    The love that prompted Jesus to give us the Sacrament of Reconciliation should move us to approach this sacrament with love and gratitude. We should not be “ungrateful sons and daughters” and wait like the younger son in the parable until we are starving. The Church strongly urges us to go to confession at least once a year. Out of concern for our own spiritual welfare, we should go to confession as soon as possible after serious sin. Preparation is needed to receive the sacrament worthily and so we should carefully examine our consciences and seriously reflect on the Passion and Death of our Lord. Sorrow for sin is absolutely necessary and so we should consider what he had to suffer for our sins. Genuine sorrow for sins helps us to confess sins humbly and sincerely. We are bound to confess all of our mortal sins. Though we are not required to confess venial sins, it is wise to do so since it helps us know ourselves better and show our love for the Savior who died for all of our sins.

    To make the Sacrament of Reconciliation readily accessible parishes publish a schedule of hours for confessions. Private confession is the commonly accepted practice. In more recent years the sacrament may “also take place in the framework of a communal celebration in which we prepare ourselves together for confession and give thanks together for the forgiveness received” (C.C.C., 1482). There must always, however, be individual confession of all mortal sins or at least one venial sin and individual absolution in these communal celebrations. Communal celebrations are often scheduled during Advent and Lent. While they show more clearly the ecclesial nature of penance, Pope John Paul II has recently stressed the importance of private confession which is more personal and offers special rewards in the form of spiritual counselling (Importance of Private Confession, Pope John Paul II, March 31, 1990).

    There is also a communal celebration of the sacrament with general confession and general absolution. This is permitted in emergency situations for grave reasons. Two things must be kept in mind—outside times of war or natural disasters, the bishop is the judge of whether conditions required for general absolution exist, and for valid absolution penitents must always have the intention of individually confessing their sins within a reasonable time after receiving general absolution. The Holy Father has warned of the abuse of general absolution (Abuse of General Absolution, Pope John Paul II, May 31, 1988). And so even when on rare occasions a person is excused from confessing sins before receiving absolution, when, for example, he is physically unable to do so, he must show some sign of sorrow for sin and the willingness to confess them.

    In this age when many feel they need the help of a psychiatrist, it is strange that some Catholics find confession burdensome. Even Martin Luther said: “Secret and auricular confession . . . pleases me . . . God forbid that I should wish its abolition! I rejoice that it exists in the Church because it is the only means to restore peace to troubled consciences” (Apud Unleber, Martin Luther). St. Bernard explains the problem this way: “Why should a person be ashamed to say what he was not ashamed to do? Why should a person be ashamed to confess to God what he cannot hide from his sight? If it is so difficult for you to confess to one sinful man, what will you do on Judgment Day when your conscience will be revealed to all?”

    Besides the Sacrament of Reconciliation there are other ways of having sins forgiven. There is the act of perfect contrition, but this must always include the intention of confessing as soon as possible. The Anointing of the Sick forgives sins when a seriously sick person is unable to confess. The Eucharist, insofar as it leads to a more fervent love of God, wipes away venial sins. Venial sins can also be forgiven on other occasions when either by devotions or sacramentals a person is moved to sorrow for sin. We must not forget, furthermore, that Baptism of an adult wipes away not only Original Sin but all personal sins even without confession.

    What should we say about the Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass? Very simply, it is not a form of general absolution taking the place of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and allowing persons with serious sins to receive Communion at Mass. Venial sins, of course, may be forgiven if there is sorrow for them. Lucilen Deiss puts it well: “The confession (in the Penitential Rite) itself is not so much the confession-recognition of our sins, but rather the confession-recognition of the forgiving mercy of God” (The Mass, Lucien Deiss, p. 22). And what about those who insist on “confessing to God alone?” No one can set limits to God’s forgiveness, but neither can anyone dictate to God how to forgive sins. And really, if there is anyone we need not confess our sins to—in the sense of telling him anything new—it is God! He knows our sins better than we. All we can do is express sorrow for our sins and take advantage of the way God through Christ and his Church has offered forgiveness.

    St. Paul turned to the Holy Spirit and asked help in prayer “for we do not know how to pray as we ought” (Rom. 8:26). If we need the Holy Spirit’s help in praying, we need it even more in preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We need help to feel our ingratitude toward God in sinning, to know our motives and secret desires, to know our sins as God judges them, to confess our sins as his Church teaches us. In this year of preparation for the Third Millennium we can be sure that we have the Holy Spirit’s help if we open our hearts to him.

Suggested reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1394-1395, 1441-1445, 1452, 1456-1457, 1480, 1493, 1520, 1846; Liturgy of the Hours, III, p. 466.

Sin offends God

5th Sunday of Lent—March 29

“C” Readings: Isa. 43:16-21 • Phil. 3:8-14 • John 8:1-11

Title: The Kinds of Sin

Purpose: to teach the distinctions between (1) original and actual sin; (2) mortal and venial sin; (3) to encourage avoidance of actual sin.

    Last May (1997) it seemed everyone’s attention was focused on the controversy around First Lieutenant Kelly Flinn. The young lady was an outstanding pilot in the Air Force but was threatened with court-martial. She asked for an Honorable Discharge but in the end accepted a General Discharge. The controversy arose because of her admitted adultery, lying and disobedience and led to various opinions on how to handle the problem. The Air Force, congressmen, talk show hosts and news people proposed various solutions. In line with today’s mentality her indiscretions were called “mistakes” or “bad choices” but never sins. Actually the situation was similar to that presented in the Gospel today. A woman, accused of adultery and considered a great sinner by the Pharisees, was brought before Jesus. How did he handle the situation? He did not excuse the sin. He did not condemn the sinner. He cautioned the woman not to repeat this sin. You may surmise that today’s homily will be on sin.

    When the angel appeared to Joseph to resolve his doubts about Mary’s being with child and to announce the birth of our Lord, he ordered him to name the child Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Mankind needed a Savior because of Original Sin, the sin freely committed by our first parents in the Garden of Eden at the beginning of the history of man. The sin consisted in disobedience to God’s command. It did not end there. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin affected the human nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state” (C.C.C., 404). To some this appears a grave injustice, yet, in fact, it only demonstrates mankind’s solidarity. We inherit the same human nature and are therefore equal, but history and experience show that we also equally inherit a nature prone to evil. As this sin is transmitted to us it does not imply actual, or personal, fault but it deprives us of the original holiness and justice planned by God for creatures created to his image and in which he created our first parents. As a result human nature was wounded in the natural powers proper to it and became subject to various weaknesses. Our first parents lost for themselves and their posterity the right, freely given by God, to heaven, grace and a harmony within nature that gave them an intellect not blurred by ignorance, a will not weakened by concupiscence, emotions not out of control and even freedom from bodily suffering and death. St. Paul observed: “Through one man sin entered the world and with sin death” (Rom. 5:12). Mankind needed a savior and the Son of God came to earth to redeem mankind and “save his people from their sins.”

    The fruits of Christ’s redemptive death are dispensed through the Church and her sacraments. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ’s grace, erases Original Sin and turns a man back toward God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle” (C.C.C., 405). Catechumens now preparing for Baptism on the Vigil of Easter are well aware of what it will mean to them to have Original Sin washed away in Baptism. We too, should be aware of our Baptism and what it means to us. Through Baptism we are born again by water and the Holy Spirit and Jesus declared that without this new birth “no one can enter into God’s kingdom” (John 3:5).

    Jesus came to earth to save us also from our actual sins. Actual sins are personal sins. We are well aware that sin “abounds” in the world and our actual sins have contributed to the moral morass in which mankind finds itself. We cannot ignore the social consequences of our sins, yet of primary importance to us must be “where we stand with God” because of our actual sins. The sin of adultery of which the woman mentioned in the Gospel was accused clearly was considered serious by the Pharisees and according to them deserved stoning. In the Old Testament it was among the sins that deserved such punishment (Deut. 22:22) along with idolatry, blasphemy and child sacrifice. No doubt Moses decreed this out of reverence for God’s Commandments, but God did not demand it. Punishment for all sins ultimately lies with God. “ ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19).

    Pope John Paul II spoke of the “mystery of sin” when he explained that sin is an act of disobedience against God and a denial of his sovereignty over one’s life “at least at that particular moment in which he or she transgresses God’s law.” As such it betrays one’s dignity as a child of God and in a mysterious way it brings the sinner in contact with the dark forces of evil active in the world (Reconciliation and Penance, Pope John Paul II, December 2, 1984).

    All sins offend God and bring sorrow to the sinner but they are not all equally grave. This is common sense and even the penal system differentiates crimes and minor infractions of the law. The Old Testament singled out several forms of impurity and idolatry as particularly serious. Our Lord pointed out that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a sin that will not be forgiven (Matt. 12:31). On Judgment Day he said that he will separate the good from the bad and invite those on his right to enter the kingdom and send those on his left to eternal punishment (Matt. 25:33f). There are sins, therefore, that are truly grave since they deserve eternal punishment. St. Paul is more specific when he identifies a number of sins that would block a person’s entry into the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-20), and St. John speaks of a “deadly sin.” He points out that while all wrongdoing is sin “not all sin is deadly” (1 John 5:16-17). Clearly St. John taught that some sins bring spiritual death to the sinner.

    In the light of the teaching of Scripture the Church has divided actual sins into mortal and venial. Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity and eternal happiness whereas mortal sin does just that. Still Chaucer warned: “Skippeth venial into deddlie synne.”

    The Church teaches that mortal sin is committed when an action seriously contrary to God’s law is performed knowingly and with full consent of the will. The Church, too, has the right to forbid some actions under the pain of serious sin. Nevertheless it is not always easy to judge concrete cases according to these norms. Consequently one must consider the subjective culpability of a person and this depends on conscience, but only one which is correctly formed. Conscience is not a carte blanche to act as we please. On the contrary, it is an honest judgment concerning the morality of an action as God sees it. It is the inner voice of a person in tune with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit which judges whether a contemplated action is morally good or evil, then witnesses the action as it is performed and finally accuses the perpetrator of sin or exonerates him. The norm of morality is a true and certain conscience, not a “deformed” or “dead” conscience. It is guided by the law of God inscribed in the heart and enlightened by revelation and the teaching of the Church. We must pray for wisdom to understand what is pleasing in God’s eyes and what is conformable with his commands (Wisdom 9:9).

    Various factors touch upon conscience and either increase or lessen culpability. One’s understanding of the moral law may be shaded by a lack of religious instruction or hindered by some state of mind. One’s will may be prevented from making a free choice by force, emotion or some mental or physical condition. All of this enters into judging how serious an action is in the concrete.

    Some have proposed a threefold distinction of sins—venial, grave and mortal. For practical purposes grave sins are mortal sins insofar as the gravity of an offense against God is one of the conditions for mortal sin. The much talked about “fundamental option” does not exonerate a person from mortal sin. This is the basic orientation of life for or against God which, according to some, overrides all other moral decisions and renders sins grave but not mortal. The Church states clearly: “The fundamental orientation can be radically changed by individual acts” (Reconciliation and Penance, Pope John Paul II, December 2, 1984). The fundamental option does not destroy freedom of the will. If there is a basic orientation of life, then it surely would lead a person to seek prompt reconciliation with God after serious sin.

    It is most important to remember that all sins can be forgiven and there is no reason to despair even in the most serious sin. Conversion to God, reconciliation with God is all that is needed—this is why Jesus gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation. “If we acknowledge our sins, he who is just can be trusted to forgive our sins,” says St. John (1 John 1:9). In practice, however, the first step is to make a good examination of conscience before confession. The Holy Spirit’s help is needed. Preparing for the Third Millennium is not just preparing for a celebration but also preparing our souls for Christ.

    The Finding of Jesus in the temple is one of the joyful mysteries of the rosary. It is the only joyful mystery that does not have a feast to commemorate it. When we meditate on the finding of Jesus we naturally concentrate on the “finding” of Jesus but what about the “losing” of Jesus? Finding implies losing. Joseph and Mary were undoubtedly conscientious and yet they lost Jesus. It was probably due to the way people travelled in caravans in those days—it was not like leaving a child in a baby carriage while eating in a restaurant. Joseph and Mary may have lost Jesus but to their credit they knew where to look for him and find him. He was in his Father’s house. This should be a lesson for us—to know where to find the Lord after losing him by sin, indifference or perhaps even in despair. We find Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the sacrament of Christ’s mercy and in the Eucharist, the sacrament of Christ’s love.

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