“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
When we were younger and we got into trouble, sometimes our parents would put us in “time out”. A “time out” helped us to think about the choices we had made. After some time had passed, our parents would talk to us and make sure we understood why we were punished and how to avoid making those same bad choices in the future.
Does our soul need a “time out”? Do we give ourselves a “time out” to think of how we have offended God and how we can stop doing it? One way to give your soul a “time out” is to make a good examination of conscience and then pray an Act of Contrition each night. If we diligently make this practice we will be ready for the Sacrament of Penance.
Why do we need the Sacrament of Penance? "Because of human weakness . . . Christians ‘turn aside from [their] early love' (see Rev 2:4) and even break off their friendship with God by sinning. The Lord, therefore, instituted a special sacrament of penance for the pardon of sins committed after baptism. The Church has faithfully celebrated the sacrament throughout the centuries—in varying ways, but retaining its essential elements." [1]
Search Lesson: Two Waters (Act of Contrition)
When we go to Confession we acknowledge that we have offended God by our thoughts, actions, and omissions. We also reflect on how we have hurt both our neighbors and ourselves. Near the end of confession we say the Act of Contrition. We make a promise to God, “I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.” [2] We are repenting from sin and asking God to help us sin no more. We know that we cannot repent from sin on our own, we must continually ask for help in avoiding sin. During the Confiteor at every Mass, we ask for the help of God and ask “blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters” [3] to pray for us. An older form of the Confiteor, which is prayed each night after the Examination of Conscience in the Officium Divinum, asks the Saints and Angels by name to pray for us. “I beseech blessed Mary, ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul and all the Saints to pray for me to the Lord our God.” [4] Saint John the Baptist is placed third in the list, right after Mary and Michael and before the great Saints of the Church, Peter and Paul. Saint John the Baptist is the saint of repentance and a powerful help in avoiding sin.
What do we mean when we promise “to sin no more”? “Nobody is perfect!" [5] It means exactly what it says, to sin no more! We understand that left to our own power, we will never be able to accomplish a life without sin. That is why we preface our promise by saying, “with your (God’s) help.” Only with God’s help can we fully keep from sinning. God is perfect and He allows us to participate in his perfection through the gift of His Grace. He made Mary perfect at her conception and He alone offers His Grace that makes us perfect. Although we are not perfect, we should be on the path of perfection. Blessed John Paul II said the path of perfection consists in “your yes” and “God’s grace”. We know we are called to walk this path of perfection for Jesus says, “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” [6] He calls us to be perfect in mercy and have perfect love. Are we ourselves working towards perfection or away from it? When someone is learning music they practice long hours in order to perform perfectly and get every note right. We must strive to live perfectly by choosing to cooperate with God’s grace at every moment of our lives. To receive his mercy, we must admit our faults. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." [7]
Is it possible to really sin no more? It is possible for us to avoid greater, mortal sins in and through God’s help alone. However, it is not possible for man on earth to avoid every sin. “While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not discount these sins which we call "light": if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession.” [8] The Blessed Virgin Mary is the exception as through the Grace of God she avoided all sin. This is a unique privilege given to Mary alone. “Because of this gift of sublime grace, she far surpasses all other creatures, both in heaven and on earth.” [9] We ask the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary to cooperate fully with the Grace of God, to avoid sin, and pursue good.
STORY – Saint Mary of Egypt
Saint Mary of Egypt is a prime example of turning from a life of great sin to a life of “little” sin. Saint Mary of Egypt’s life is a testimony of God’s Grace conquering sin. Mary, from the age of 12 to 29, lived a life of public prostitution. At the age of 29, Mary went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, not for holy reasons but rather in hopes that she would meet some clients on the ship and ports. They happened to be in Jerusalem on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross and so her group visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where a relic of the True Cross is venerated. Mary attempted to enter the Church four times but was prevented by an invisible force. Mary, upset at not being able to enter, went to a statue of Our Lady outside the Church where she bitterly wept and beat her chest in repentance of her long life of sin. She promised to “sin no more” and listen to Our Lady’s direction on the manner in which she should live the rest of her life. After repenting, she entered the Church and kissed the relic of the True Cross. She returned to the statue of Mary and while praying, she heard a voice from afar which told her to cross the Jordan there she would find peace. Mary reached the Jordan and there receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in a Church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. She then traveled into the desert and, for 47 years, lived a life of solitude and penance, similar to that of Saint John the Baptist. It is only in God’s holy providence that this great sinner, turned Saint, imitated the great Saint of conversion and penance, Saint John the Baptist, not only living like him but receiving the Blessed Sacrament at a Church named in his honor.
How does God help us from sinning? There are countless ways God helps us from sinning. First, He gave us our conscience to be able to determine right from wrong. Then He gave us a guardian angel to watch over us, protect us from harm, and be there for us. He also gave us the lives of the Saints to be examples of how we can rise up in every occasion to conquer sin.
He gives us the Sacraments, especially the Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist. We must be in the state of Grace, without mortal sin, to receive Him in the Eucharist. If we are not in the state of grace, we need to receive the Sacrament of Confession. In this sacrament, God forgives our sins, wipes away our guilt, and gives the graces necessary to overcome sin in the future. “The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions.” [10]
God gave us His Holy Mother, Mary, as a human example of the perfection that we are all called to achieve. She was perfect from the moment of conception in her mother’s womb, through the Grace of God. She remained perfect and sinless for her whole life by cooperating with the Grace that God gave her.
Finally, God gave us “his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” [11] Because of Jesus Christ we can say with the apostle Paul, “I can do all things in him who strengthened me.” [12]
Who do we hurt when we sin? Every time we sin, we offend God and hurt ourselves. By avoiding repentance we put our soul in grave danger. As it said in the Gospel today, “Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees”. [13] When we fail to show repentance for our sins, we reject His grace and pass judgment on ourselves. “By rejecting grace in this life, one already judges oneself, receives according to one’s works, and can even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of love.” [14] Our sins tend to have a ripple effect. When we lie, we can hurt someone else or give false account of a person. When we commit sins of omission, meaning we fail to do something, we can hurt others by our lack of action. When we view others in our minds as objects, it can hurt us because we are not treating them with the full respect and dignity that every human deserves.
What if sin is an addiction? It only takes about four weeks to get addicted to something. Anything can be an addiction: Drugs, alcohol, sex, porn, food, Internet, phone, television, clothes, shoes, work, etc. It can take twice as long to beat an addiction and even then we may still be tempted by it for the rest of our life. Just because we may be tempted with something for the rest of our life, does not give us the right to indulge in that sin. The first step in overcoming an addiction, as the twelve-step process says, is admitting that you have an addiction and having the desire to seek help. There are many great counselors and people who can help us overcome any addiction we may have. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
In times when we are fighting off temptations or when we find ourselves in the midst of a trial, we should take comfort in the words of St. Paul, “No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.” [15]
An addiction is a habituation to sin that reaches the point of necessity. Saint Bernard traces back all habituation to our thoughts. He says, “Thoughts led to pleasure, pleasure to consent, consent to action, action to habit, habit to necessity.” So let us work hard to control our thoughts so they do not grow into something much worse.
What if I can’t help myself from doing it or it’s just the way I am? St. Jose Maria Escriva once said, “...don’t say, that’s the way I am, it’s my character. It’s your lack of character! Be a man! When you decide to live a clean life...it will be a crown of triumph” [16] He was speaking of chastity, but this can be seen as applying to any fault that we may have. We may try to shrug it off, but we must face it head on if we want to receive the everlasting reward God has prepared for us.
Why does it even matter to repent? Can’t I just wait until I’m older? Your soul is at stake! “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” [17] We must thank and praise God for today by repenting, asking for forgiveness for what we have done, and coming to Him now! The Pharisees and Sadducees came to the baptism of John but the Gospel does not say that they were willing to be baptized, instead they ask questions and remain bystanders.
It is never too late to do the right thing, to repent. We will be able to “produce good fruit” when we turn from sin. We will be able to find rest [18] and Christ will make our troubles and burdens lighter. [19] With the chains not tying us down, we are able to go and proclaim the good news, tell others to repent by leaving the life of old and following the way of the Lord.
What does the gospel mean by “produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance”? If we are repentant people and living a life of repentance it will be evident from the fruits we bear in life. True repentance changes one’s life radically as we seek to live according to God’s Will and not our own. Simply saying that we repent does not show evidence of that reality; it is in the actions of our life’s work that we can see the fruits of a repentant life.
What are the fruits that are evident in a repentant life? What are some examples of these fruits that we see in our life and the lives of others? “The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.” [20]
What are some examples of the bad fruits, the works of the flesh that we see in our lives and the lives of others? If we see these fruits in our lives or the lives of others, they are the evidence and indication of a repentant heart. If we see the opposite of these fruits in our lives, which Saint Paul calls, the “works of the flesh” they are evidence and indications of an unrepentant heart. “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissentions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” [21]
Why is repentance necessary? Saint John the Baptist says that repentance is necessary to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, “repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. Saint Paul warns that if we do not produce good fruits, which are evidence of repentance, we “will not inherit the kingdom of God”. It is clear from both these Saints and Our Lord that a repentant heart is not optional but a necessary.
ACTIVITY – Do you know your fruits?
You will need 3 kinds of fruit, 2 of each kind, and two small powdered donuts. Break the group up into two groups of four. Have eight chairs set out that are facing the crowd, put a space in between chair 4 and 5 so that the two groups can be distinguished. All those in the chairs, once seated, will be blindfolded. STEP ONE - The person in chair 1 (team one) and the person in chair 5 (team two) will be given a fruit at the count of three. They will be given the same fruit and may only smell and feel the fruit, the first person to correctly guess what the fruit is, gains a point for their team. Those two players can take off the blindfold but they must remain quiet and not help their teammates. The person in chair 2 (team one) and the person in chair 6 (team two) will be given a different fruit at the count of three. Follow same instructions as step one and do so for chair 3 and 7. When you get to chair 4 (team one) and chair 8 (team two) instead of giving a fruit at the count of three place a powdered donut in the player’s hands. We are playing a joke on them but also proving the point that people know very well physical fruits and what is not a fruit. If someone were sent to the store with a list of fruits, they would not be able to buy them if they did not know how the fruits look. In the same way, if we do not even know the fruits of the Holy Spirit, how are we to look for them and practice them in our lives? After the game you could have a contest between the teams to see how many of the 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit they could name.
[1] www.usccb.org/liturgy/penance.shtml
[2] Rite of Penance, no. 45
[3] The Order of the Mass; Penitential Rite
[4] Sunday Compline; Divine Office; page 55
[5] Matthew 5:48
[6] Matthew 5:48
[7] Catechism of the Catholic Church 1847
[8] CCC 1863
[9] Lumen Gentium 53, 56
[10] CCC 1131
[11] John 3:16
[12] Philippians 4:13
[13] Matthew 3:10
[14] CCC - 679
[15] 1 Cor. 10:13
[16] The Way
[17] Matthew 3:2
[18] Matthew 11:28
[19] Matthew 11:30
[20] Catechism of the Catholic Church; 1832
[21] Galatians 5:19-21 (Fruits of Holy Spirit, 5:22-23)