“We may yet turn all your weakness into something really great.” (Saint Josemaria, “The Way”, 605).
Have you ever really thought about what it is to be absolved of your sins?
I have been reflecting on the miracle of Absolution.
I cannot get into Heaven if there is sin on my soul and yet I can be forgiven all my sins if only I consent to ask for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation…
And that TRULY IS A MIRACLE… It is my ticket to Heaven. When the writer, G.K. Chesterton was asked why he chose to convert to Catholicism, he replied, “so that my sins would be forgiven.”
And I have been thinking about that because there are so many barriers to Reconciliation and most of them stem from pride…
When I stop and think about it, it is quite a phenomenal thing to consider that while I have no shame in committing the actual sin itself, later – when I am called to confess that sin and seek forgiveness and absolution – I experience all manner of shame, which literally cripples me from confessing my sin.
Saint Josemaria recounted a conversation with a penitent after confession in “The Way” at 605, “‘Father, how can you listen to such filth?’ you asked me, after a contrite confession. I said nothing, and thought that if your humility makes you feel like that – filth: a heap of filth! – we may yet turn all your weakness into something really great.”
There must be humility in a soul if a soul wishes to be forgiven their sins… “Once again you had gone back to your old follies! And afterwards, when you returned, you didn't feel very cheerful, because you lacked humility. It seems as if you obstinately refuse to learn from the second part of the parable of the prodigal son, and you still feel attached to the wretched happiness of the pig-swill. With your pride wounded by your weakness, you have not made up your mind to ask for pardon, and you have not realised that, if you humble yourself, the joyful welcome of your Father God awaits you, with a feast to mark your return and your new beginning.” (Saint Josemaria, “Furrow”, 65).
And that moment of absolution is profound. It is the moment in which the sin that was – the sin that changed the course of the world – is made no more. You see, each sin that I commit is a turning away from God. In God’s plan for creation there was no sin. Every choice that human souls like mine were supposed to make was supposed to bring that soul closer and closer to God. Every single choice was going to bring us closer to God who loves us beyond comprehension…
And yet, instead I sin. And every sin has a consequence. For example, when I tell a lie, I cause another soul to make choices based on that lie instead of choices based on truth, and those choices draw that soul further and further away from God instead of closer to Him. Or when I am uncharitable with another person, that person in a moment of hurt or anger, might respond by sinning in return, which means that they too shall draw further away from God.
And even so – if I simply confess that sin and do penance, God Himself will absolve it and make the universe as though it never was. And this is the case even if I have committed any number of serious and grave (MORTAL) sins.
And I have been thinking about that today, as I reflect on the miracle of Atonement…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.