Fr. Piero Lazzarini sx
XXII SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
Today’s Gospel is a good opportunity to do some good catechesis regarding:
- the reality of sin
- the gravity of sin
- the gravity not only of external sins (those committed through action)
- but especially of those committed through thought and desire (and of these ones, not only of those of a sexual nature).
MOST of our Christian people are hardly aware of these sins. See the way they make their confession. Even after YEARS after going to confession (3…5… 8…10…15 years… and longer), they come and do not know what to say. Hardly anybody mentions any sin in thought and desire.
Many (MOST, in the area where I work) never go to confession: sin for them does not exist! At least big sin, grave sin… according to their judgement. Nobody nowadays ever mentions MORTAL SIN. Not even priests. So people draw their own conclusion.
And everybody joins the queue to go to communion at Mass on Sunday.
This is really a pastoral emergency. What do you do? Let it be?
John Paul II used to say to the priests: “Be bold! Be creative! Don’t give up!”
Today we should try to make our people realize that:
- Sin, big sin is – unfortunately – a matter of daily experience
- Most sins (and bad ones) are committed IN THE HEART through thought, desire, lack of control
- These are MORTAL i.e. deadly, because they kill God’s life, God’s grace in us.
- We need/have to wash them, through repentance and the sacrament of reconciliation.
- We must reflect and examine our conscience regularly, and say the act of contrition every night.
Look at Jesus: he denounces the superficiality and stupidity of the Pharisees:
- Sin is not just failing to wash hands up to the elbows
- Sin is not failing to keep elders’ traditions (which nullify God’s laws)
- Sin is breaking or ignoring God’s law of life, which was given to us for our own good and happiness.
All sins come from inside, FROM THE HEART, primarily. Also the external ones begin in the heart. Most are committed in thought and desire and with an evil intention.
Those that Jesus mentions ( see the list in the Gospel) are more numerous than those mentioned in the 10 commandments. We (preachers) could add a few more, as a way of example, to help our people to reflect, like: selfishness (obsession with ego), attachment to money, cheating, dishonesty, offensive sexual behavior (indecency), malice, intention to do harm, evil talking, destruction of people’s reputation, arrogance, vanity, spitefulness…
…and then murder! Murder in our communities? Yes, brutal killing of innocent children by their mothers and her “friends”. It is called abortion… which has become frequent and very easy to do it. All a girl needs to do is to get some money from “friends”, which is easy enough, and then say that you are going to stay with a friend’s for a few days. You can hide the “murder” from anybody, even from your own mother. To do an abortion, you have to plan it, i.e. to persistently dwell, IN YOUR HEART, on committing a crime. Who thinks about the automatic excommunication, for the mother, “friends” and all sympathysers/supporters, that follows, and the absolution (if it is ever sought) which is reserved to the Bishop?
We should try to make people humbly confess and reflect before the Lord:
- We all have sins, and serious ones, that are committed IN THE HEART
- Often we are not even aware of them
- We need to reflect and to examine our conscience
- We are NOT FIT to “make communion” with the Lord, unless we go to wash first and BE RECONCILED to him. Prophet Isaiah says: “Your sins, your iniquities, have separated you from the Lord”
(59,2). We are irresponsible, if we “join the queue” in that state: we profane, we abuse the body of the Lord. Jesus himself one day gave a stern warning: “Don’t throw pearls to the pigs!” St. Paul was even
more severe: If you profane the body of Christ, you compel his body to join the body of a prostitute!
Who is the prostitute? You, the sinner (1 Cor. 6, 15. Free quotation).
These are not pleasant things to say, but they have to be said sometimes. Jesus himself was quite direct on several occasions. And Ezekiel warned pastors: “Son of man… if you do not speak to warn the wicked man, I will hold you responsible for his death!” (Ez. 33,7-9)
XXII SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
Today’s Gospel is a good opportunity to do some good catechesis regarding:
- the reality of sin
- the gravity of sin
- the gravity not only of external sins (those committed through action)
- but especially of those committed through thought and desire (and of these ones, not only of those of a sexual nature).
MOST of our Christian people are hardly aware of these sins. See the way they make their confession. Even after YEARS after going to confession (3…5… 8…10…15 years… and longer), they come and do not know what to say. Hardly anybody mentions any sin in thought and desire.
Many (MOST, in the area where I work) never go to confession: sin for them does not exist! At least big sin, grave sin… according to their judgement. Nobody nowadays ever mentions MORTAL SIN. Not even priests. So people draw their own conclusion.
And everybody joins the queue to go to communion at Mass on Sunday.
This is really a pastoral emergency. What do you do? Let it be?
John Paul II used to say to the priests: “Be bold! Be creative! Don’t give up!”
Today we should try to make our people realize that:
- Sin, big sin is – unfortunately – a matter of daily experience
- Most sins (and bad ones) are committed IN THE HEART through thought, desire, lack of control
- These are MORTAL i.e. deadly, because they kill God’s life, God’s grace in us.
- We need/have to wash them, through repentance and the sacrament of reconciliation.
- We must reflect and examine our conscience regularly, and say the act of contrition every night.
Look at Jesus: he denounces the superficiality and stupidity of the Pharisees:
- Sin is not just failing to wash hands up to the elbows
- Sin is not failing to keep elders’ traditions (which nullify God’s laws)
- Sin is breaking or ignoring God’s law of life, which was given to us for our own good and happiness.
All sins come from inside, FROM THE HEART, primarily. Also the external ones begin in the heart. Most are committed in thought and desire and with an evil intention.
Those that Jesus mentions ( see the list in the Gospel) are more numerous than those mentioned in the 10 commandments. We (preachers) could add a few more, as a way of example, to help our people to reflect, like: selfishness (obsession with ego), attachment to money, cheating, dishonesty, offensive sexual behavior (indecency), malice, intention to do harm, evil talking, destruction of people’s reputation, arrogance, vanity, spitefulness…
…and then murder! Murder in our communities? Yes, brutal killing of innocent children by their mothers and her “friends”. It is called abortion… which has become frequent and very easy to do it. All a girl needs to do is to get some money from “friends”, which is easy enough, and then say that you are going to stay with a friend’s for a few days. You can hide the “murder” from anybody, even from your own mother. To do an abortion, you have to plan it, i.e. to persistently dwell, IN YOUR HEART, on committing a crime. Who thinks about the automatic excommunication, for the mother, “friends” and all sympathysers/supporters, that follows, and the absolution (if it is ever sought) which is reserved to the Bishop?
We should try to make people humbly confess and reflect before the Lord:
- We all have sins, and serious ones, that are committed IN THE HEART
- Often we are not even aware of them
- We need to reflect and to examine our conscience
- We are NOT FIT to “make communion” with the Lord, unless we go to wash first and BE RECONCILED to him. Prophet Isaiah says: “Your sins, your iniquities, have separated you from the Lord”
(59,2). We are irresponsible, if we “join the queue” in that state: we profane, we abuse the body of the Lord. Jesus himself one day gave a stern warning: “Don’t throw pearls to the pigs!” St. Paul was even
more severe: If you profane the body of Christ, you compel his body to join the body of a prostitute!
Who is the prostitute? You, the sinner (1 Cor. 6, 15. Free quotation).
These are not pleasant things to say, but they have to be said sometimes. Jesus himself was quite direct on several occasions. And Ezekiel warned pastors: “Son of man… if you do not speak to warn the wicked man, I will hold you responsible for his death!” (Ez. 33,7-9)