Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - A frequent temptation for those walking along the way of the Lord is to give in to sin, to their sinful tendencies and convince themselves that instead of being fought these tendencies should be integrated into life. But God's plan for mankind as it is revealed by Jesus Christ, is what the Greek Fathers call “the divinisation of the creature”, or, transformation in Christ: “it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me ” (Gal 2, 20)!
Often a false understanding of mercy is the cause of a deviation on the path of conversion. In fact, although that Divine Mercy forgives every sin to the sinner who confesses it is also true that Mercy is a fire which burns away everything which comes in the way of God's holiness! “Be prefect as your heavenly Father in perfect ” (Mt 5, 48). The Word of God does not allow misconstruction or compromise.
The Lord Jesus came to defeat sin and restore man to original innocence, calling him to continual conversion. Conversion is authentic if it is daily not when it is put off until tomorrow. We have only today, tomorrow may never come! In the language of God there is no such thing as the word 'tomorrow' referred to conversion: “today harden not your hearts, listen to the voice of the Lord” (cf. Ps 94, 8). Jesus desires to enter in our life “today”: “'Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I am to stay at your house today” (Lk 19, 5).
Of course as long as we are on this earth, we will always be sinners, but sinners who do not love sin they hate it; sinners who let themselves be continually purified by the Blood of Christ and do penance in reparation for the consequences of their sins. Saints are men and women who deny themselves every day, as Jesus asks each of us to do: “Then, speaking to all, he said: 'If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me” (Lk 9, 23).
Every day we must deny our sinful tendencies; unless we deny them they will overcome and we will soon become subject to them and lose our true freedom. Sin does not make man stronger: people who are overbearing, arrogant, pleasure-seeking, envious, slanderous, ambitious … are not strong they are weak, they are not free they are prisoners of themselves and their passions.
The Saints were the freest of creatures because they everything to Christ-Truth including their sins! They gave their egoism no respite in its numerous appearances and aware of its brutal force they attacked without compassion. No mercy must be shown to sinners, whereas it must always be shown to sinners. As Jesus shows us in the encounter with the women caught in adultery, whom the Jews intended to stone to death: “'Neither do I condemn you,' said Jesus. 'Go away, and from this moment sin no more.' ” (Jn 8, 11).
The Saints in all their fragility and struggle learned to resist sinful desires and realised that it is not enough to confess them to overcome them. Confession is the first step, and to ask for the vital and necessary grace, but the next step is “avoid any occasion of sin”, as we pray in the act of sorrow before receiving absolution. The Saints have always said that desire for God and desire for the world are incompatible. They lived the greatest of compassion for the sinner but zero tolerance for sin; never depicting it in beautiful colours!
Sin's power of the soul should not be undervalued and the Church urges us to renounce it completely, as we do when we renew our baptismal promises: “Do you renounce sin to live in the freedom of children of God? I do! Do you renounce the seduction of evil so as not to be dominated by sin? I do! Do you renounce Satan, origin and cause of all sin? I do!”
Although it sometimes appears ridiculous, sin must never be ridiculed or it will ridicule those who fail to take it seriously. Unless we renounce sin we will become its tools! At times a grave sin may appear to be almost something inconsistent, when in actual fact it has tremendous power over those who let it crush them to pieces. Sin makes a man a prisoner of his ego, by feeding his concupiscence it make him focus only on self: like a water mill which drags with it everything which comes within its range of action.
The Saints sought with all their strength to avoid sin's power of attraction, they were tempted by the Evil One in a thousand ways, they fell sometimes too but soon came to their senses since their ally and constant support was the invincible power of the Lord Jesus and his Most Holy Mother! But all told what is holiness ? “Prefer nothing to the love of Christ". Holiness consists of this, a sound proposal for every Christian that has become a real and urgent pastoral need in our time…” (Benedict XVI, Angelus del 10 July 2005). (Agenzia Fides 19/9/2007; righe 56, parole 836)
