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God’s
forgiveness and reconciliation equation
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
Last issue I reflected on sin. This week the reflection is on
forgiveness. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in speaking of
forgiveness, focuses on conversion of heart, the life in the Holy Spirit
won for us by Christ Jesus, and reconciliation.
Sin, before all else, is an offense against God. If it is mortal sin, it
is a rupture of communion with God. It also damages communion with the
Church, the Body of Christ. Because that is a fact, conversion entails
both God’s forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church. This is
accomplished by the sacrament of penance and reconciliation, although
the Catechism teaches (1437) that “every sincere act of worship
or devotion revives the spirit of conversion and repentance within us
and contributes to the forgiveness of our sins.”
Jesus forgave sins. In doing so he exercised divine power. When he
declared sins forgiven, it scandalized the temple authorities and no
small number of common folk who said both out loud and to themselves:
Only God forgives sin.
Jesus persisted. In the Gospel of Mark (2:5), he proclaimed, “Your sins
are forgiven” over a paralyzed man. Likewise, in the Gospel of Luke,
Jesus says to a repentant woman, “Your sins are forgiven” (Lk.7:48).
But, it didn’t end there. Forgiveness was only part of the Lord’s
ministry of healing.
It is both revealing and important to study the Scriptures in the
context of how Jesus handled the forgiveness of sin. Without fail he
reintegrated sinners into the community from which sin had alienated
them. This was seen most remarkable when Jesus received sinners at his
table.
It was a powerful gesture that expressed not only God’s forgiveness, but
reconciliation with the community as well. Jesus gave the same role to
the Church: forgiveness and reconciliation. He wanted the Church to be a
sign and instrument of both reconciliation and forgiveness.
This ecclesial dimension is clearly expressed in the words of Jesus
addressed to Peter: “I will entrust to you the keys of the Kingdom of
Heaven. Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in heaven;
whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt.
16:19).
Bind and loose, according to the Catechism of the
Catholic Church, means “whoever you exclude from your communion,
will be excluded from communion with God; whoever you receive anew into
your communion, God will welcome back into his. Reconciliation with
the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God” (1445).
The culture of the United States emphasizes individual rights. Our
country was founded on respect for the individual and his rights. It was
a needed move away from the “divine right of kings” long dominant in
European thought. All things are subject to abuse, however.
Sometimes this individualism is compatible with Catholic philosophy,
that is, when it argues for the protection of religious freedom and due
process, to name just two areas. On the other hand, individualism has
been advanced as justification for actions contrary to God’s law.
Pro-abortion advocates argue that the individual rights of the mother
are more important than the rights of the father or of the unborn child.
The demand that gays be afforded the right to “marry” is rooted in this
same distortion of individualism.
In Catholic philosophy, the rights of the individual must always be
understood in the context of natural law and the obligation all have to
follow God’s plan, even when this requires the sacrifice of an
individual’s desires.
Given the contrary culture, it does not surprise that the concept that a
sinner needs to be reconciled to his/her faith community has suffered
erosion. Our culture has canonized personal fulfillment, separating it
from responsibility to the community. Note the conviction that if I
remonstrate long enough and loud enough, my judgment will prevail, right
or wrong, moral or not.
Culture is a mighty river that engulfs people. It sweeps them along. A
person must be solidly founded in faith and filled with determination to
swim upstream against it. This reality is at least one explanation for
the neglect of the sacrament of penance. People accept the concept of
forgiveness and reconciliation. But, many have lost appreciation for the
second part, that is, reconciliation with the faith community, the
Church.
Sin perpetrates violence against brothers and sisters. That’s the bottom
line. That damage cries for the sacrament of pen-ance.
Through that sacrament a person is not only healed of the illness of
sin, but restored to ecclesial communion. The sacrament of penance also
has a revitalizing effect on the Church itself, which always suffers
when its members sin. John Paul II said: “The forgiven penitent is
reconciled with himself in his inmost being, where he regains his
innermost truth. He is reconciled with his brethren whom he has in some
way offended and wounded. He is reconciled with the Church. He has
reconciled with all creation” (Catechism 1469).
Thomas Aquinas instructs that the good each of us does is communicated
to others. The evil done is likewise communicated. We pray for one
another with firm belief that prayer benefits brothers and sisters. In
the same way, sin drags down those same brothers and sisters, the Body
of Christ.
During the upcoming Easter Season, we will reflect on the Scriptures
that tell us of post-resurrection events: “In his name, penance for
remission of sins is to be preached to all the nations beginning at
Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this” (Lk. 24:47-48).
The Church takes this commission seriously. It announces the forgiveness
merited for us by Christ. This forgiveness is rooted in a call to
conversion and faith. There is no sin, no matter how serious, that the
Church cannot forgive. There is no one, no matter how wicked and guilty,
who may not confidently hope for forgiveness. There are consequences to
our decisions. They must be faced. But, forgiveness awaits all who turn
away from sin. Forgiveness itself, however, is not enough.
Reconciliation is very much part of the picture.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (987): “In the forgiveness
of sins, both priests and sacraments are instruments which Our Lord
Jesus Christ, the only author and liberal giver of salvation, wills to
use in order to efface our sins and give us the grace of justification.” |
