4th Sunday of Advent – December 23, 2012
Epistle, 1 Corinthians 4: 1-5 Gospel, Luke 3: 1-6
“Bring forth therefore
fruits worthy of penance.” (Luke 3: 8)
If we commit a deadly sin, that is, a mortal sin, we have no recourse
except penance. Even if our sins are forgiven in the Confessional, Divine
Justice demands punishment for them. So
we’ll talk about penance and punishment today.
God
demands by His Church that a penance be assigned when absolution is given. The
purpose of penance is to prevent us from returning to sin again by reminding us
that if we sin again we will have to endure another penance when we return to
the Confessional. Aren’t we fortunate that in our day penance is usually very
light and that we do not have to announce our sins and say our prayers of
penance in public as was required in times gone by. Taking God’s name in vain
in the early Church called for a penance of seven days fast on bread and water.
Ridiculing a bishop’s or pastor’s instructions called for 40 days of penance. So
even though we don’t have to endure long and difficult penances, we must do the
penance assigned by the priest. If we deliberately do not do our penance the
absolution given by the priest is null and void. That is how important penance
is.
But there is
more to penance. If we steal something from some one or some company, we must
make restitution for the theft. We must make a great and honest effort to do
this. If it’s impossible because the person has moved or is deceased or if the
company is out of business, then put that restitution in the collection basket
over and above your regular support for your parish.
The penance
we are assigned is usually light and bears no comparison to the gravity of the
sins we commit. If you are opposed to doing penance, then raise your thoughts
to our loving Redeemer Who suffered so much for us. The weight of all the sins
of the world were on the cross He carried. If any one of us had put that cross
to our shoulder, it would have crushed us, destroyed us. Our penance is a
little inconvenience compared to Christ’s cross.
The
punishment due to us for our sins can be suffered either during our lifetime or
in purgatory after our death. We can expect eternal punishment in hell for
unforgiven mortal sins. Sin is an act of contempt of God and an abuse of the
graces that He gives us. Divine Justice demands punishment for this. This
punishment is also necessary to purify our souls because nothing impure,
nothing imperfect will enter Heaven. One way to satisfy God’s Justice is by
fasting. I mean fasting in its broadest sense, meaning anything that mortifies
our body and soul. When you kneel in prayer, for example, stay kneeling a while
longer than usual so that your body will suffer that slight discomfort. Give up
a desert some night after dinner. Offer little mortifications like these to God
and you will find they draw you closer to God and further away from sin.
Another
way to satisfy God’s Justice is by giving alms. Giving food, clothing and money
to those who are in need is almsgiving. These have reference to the body. There
is also spiritual almsgiving which is of more value. Consoling someone who is
in trouble or who has suffered a loss is spiritual almsgiving. Console them
with words of kindness and charity and remind them that the suffering of this
world lasts only a short time compared
to the eternal joys of heaven. There are many who do not know Jesus Christ.
Instructing them in what is necessary for salvation is an act of spiritual
almsgiving.
An
indulgence is a
remission of the temporal punishment for sin after its guilt has been forgiven and is an effective means of satisfying the
Justice of God. Indulgences come from the superabundant merits of Jesus Christ,
the Blessed Virgin and all the Saints. They are an inexhaustible treasure,
which means we can’t use them up. What is an indulgence like? Suppose you owe
the bank $4000, but you have no money to pay. Then suppose the bank says come
on down and take the money out of our vault and use that to pay us back. That’s
what God’s indulgences are like. To avoid the suffering of Purgatory altogether
we can obtain a plenary indulgence. For this we must be in the state of grace,
have a horror for our venial sins and say the prayers prescribed by the Pope.
Indulgences are a great gift from the God Who loves us. They can be earned for
ourselves and can also be offered for the souls in Purgatory.
God
does not demand much, but what He demands we must give Him. So accept your
penances with a firm intention of doing them as well as you can, and do them
with devotion and thanksgiving to God Who loves us so much.
A blessed Christmas to all! +++
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