Third Sunday of Easter, B,
Saint Peter, who is often
noted for his quick responses, his zeal, his impetuosity, made this fiery
speech that is recounted in the first scripture for today. It was not a very
subtle bit of oratory. No nuances, no delicate phrases, no crowd pleasing, and
no tempering of his message either. Peter came straight upon his audience and
accused them of murdering Jesus: “you handed him over and denied him in Pilate’s
presence; you denied the Holy and Righteous One; you put to death the author of
life.” Strong, direct language. It is characteristic
of apostolic preaching that it is convinced and convincing. The sinner is
confronted head on with his sin. This is neither arrogance nor haughtiness on
the apostle’s part, neither is it, in common parlance, ‘being judgmental’
(meaning acting with a false superiority and condemning in the place of God).
The success of the conversion of so many in the early days of the Church is
due, apart from the grace of God, to the honesty of its message. The Gospel is
truth. It convicts men of their wrongdoing.
If this were the sum total of
Saint Peter’s discourse, the outcome would not have been happy. Conviction
without hope is not the message of Jesus. His is the good news which brings
Peter to the point of his sermon: “Repent, therefore, and be converted, so that
your sins may be wiped away.” Christ’s apostolic legacy is the enduring
rectification of men’s consciences after they continually violate them. The
Lord is always in the ‘repair’ of men’s souls. His mercy endures for ever. As
often as we are determined to submit to eh suggestion to sin and then turn as
often to his mercy, we are forgiven in the sacrament of confession. This
cancelling power of Jesus–which He exercises continually through His priests–is
available through no other agency than through his Church.
What astonishes me about this
is the persistence of Christ, the patience of God, the unlimited measure of His
mercy. How many chances have we been given for reform? Who can count them? Has
our Lord ever been sparing with us, forgiving only on occasion? The Jews have
only one day of atonement per year. We have access to divine forgiveness just
about any day, any time. God has not restricted His benevolence to a season. It
is that which causes me to marvel. This is a thing that alone should make
Catholics remain grateful to God.
I want to make this teaching
clear in the wake of divine mercy Sunday. Sometimes sinners can get pretty
weary of their recurring weaknesses and relapses into sin. This can lead to
discouragement and, if unchecked, even to despair of salvation. This is surely
displeasing to God and an insult to Him. Sin too is an insult to Him, of
course, but the easy availability of forgiveness was his own invention. I
wish that people would develop the good habit of frequent confession and a
quick race to the confessional when they have sinned mortally. Delay and the
disheartenment have the effect of making a bad situation worse: sin multiplying
sin, and a person living in fear of an unprovided death. And, even in the case
where mortal sin is not involved, who would not want to obtain grace from
Christ to conquer his faults? Confession is not for the spiritually dead only;
it is the strengthening food to give the means of self-conquest.
And so I want to give you
encouragement not to allow yourselves to stay away either on account of the
number of your sins, the dread of confessing, nor the recurring weakness. God
knows all things in advance of your sins. Be of good courage and be a ‘regular’
at the sacrament of his mercy.
The passage from the Imitation
for today is a dialogue between Christ and a disciple on truth and humility. In
it Jesus is made say this: “Remember your sins with deep sorrow and
displeasure. Of yourself you always tend to nothing; you quickly fail and are
overcome. Some carry their devotion only in books and pictures; some have me on
their lips, but seldom in their hearts. But then there are those others who are
enlightened in mind and pure in affection, who long always for the things of
heaven.”
Here again is the perennial
urging of Christ for our reform and His invitation to have us eternally safe
with Him. We can all succeed when God Himself is our advocate, always so
reassuring!