THIS is just to be realistic about
our human condition.
It's not to paint a dark world for ourselves. If we believe in God, we
know that our life ought to be bright and cheerful, and that
everything, including our mistakes, works out for the good.
But we cannot deny that we have weaknesses. There are
temptations around. And in spite of our best efforts, we know that
sooner or later we find ourselves falling into sin.
We need to know how to deal with these conditions. We need
to find a way to derive some good from them, since if we have hope,
some good can always be achieved from them.
We have to remember what St. John said about what we have
to contend with in the world. “For everything in the world—the lust of
the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from
the Father but from the world.” (1 Jn 2,16) With that warning alone,
it would seem that we are doomed to fall one way or another, sooner or
later.
St. Paul also points to us the tremendous evil spirits
that we always have to do battle with. “For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6,12) We need
to process these words slowly, and be prepared for them to happen in
our life.
It's good that we never forget this reality. But we need
to prepare ourselves for it. Precisely, the virtue of penance starts
when we acknowledge these conditions about ourselves. We should be
humble enough to accept this reality.
But the virtue of penance goes farther than that. It grows
when we put up the necessary defenses against these enemies of our
soul and wage a lifelong ascetical struggle. Yes, our life will be and
should be a life of warfare, a war of peace and love that will also
give us certain consolations in spite of the tension.
And for this penance to be a true virtue, it has to
include an indomitable hope that can survive even in the worst of
scenarios. In fact, this hope gets stronger the uglier also the
warfare gets.
It's a hope based on God's never-sparing mercy. Some
relevant words of St. Paul: “I am sure that he who began a good work
in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil
1,6) It would be good if these Pauline assurance forms the deep
attitude we should have toward our fragile human condition.
Besides, we should not forget that nothing happens in our
life without at least the permission and tolerance of God. And if he
allows something to happen, no matter how evil it is, it is because a
greater good can be derived from it. Precious lessons can also be
learned from our sinfulness.
God predestines no one to fail definitively, although we
have the power, due to our freedom, to go against God's will and
saving designs. This truth of our faith should never be forgotten,
especially in our deep moments of misery and misfortune.
The virtue of penance also includes the desire and
practice of regular and frequent recourse to the sacrament of penance,
where through the ministry of priests, Christ comes to us as father,
friend, judge and doctor. This sacrament not only reconciles us with
God, but also repairs whatever damage our sin would cause on others
and the Church in general.
It's good that the practice of confession becomes a habit
and is approached with the proper dispositions and preparation, making
a thorough examination of conscience, contrition, purpose of
amendment, confession and acts of penance.
As a sacrament, confession gives us, aside from
sanctifying grace, some special and sacramental grace that would make
us at the same time more sensitive and resistant to our weaknesses and
temptations. There is a kind of strength that it gives and that is
useful to our daily spiritual battles.
This virtue of penance also includes the desire and
practice of continuing atonement and reparation. This can be done in
many ways—exerting greater effort to pray, being more generous with
our sacrifices and daily self-denials, especially in food, drink, and
comfort. It can be done also by doing many corporal and spiritual
works of mercy, etc.
All of these should produce an inner joy in us. That's a
sure sign the virtue of penance is alive in us.
It's not to paint a dark world for ourselves. If we believe in God, we
know that our life ought to be bright and cheerful, and that
everything, including our mistakes, works out for the good.
But we cannot deny that we have weaknesses. There are
temptations around. And in spite of our best efforts, we know that
sooner or later we find ourselves falling into sin.
We need to know how to deal with these conditions. We need
to find a way to derive some good from them, since if we have hope,
some good can always be achieved from them.
We have to remember what St. John said about what we have
to contend with in the world. “For everything in the world—the lust of
the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from
the Father but from the world.” (1 Jn 2,16) With that warning alone,
it would seem that we are doomed to fall one way or another, sooner or
later.
St. Paul also points to us the tremendous evil spirits
that we always have to do battle with. “For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6,12) We need
to process these words slowly, and be prepared for them to happen in
our life.
It's good that we never forget this reality. But we need
to prepare ourselves for it. Precisely, the virtue of penance starts
when we acknowledge these conditions about ourselves. We should be
humble enough to accept this reality.
But the virtue of penance goes farther than that. It grows
when we put up the necessary defenses against these enemies of our
soul and wage a lifelong ascetical struggle. Yes, our life will be and
should be a life of warfare, a war of peace and love that will also
give us certain consolations in spite of the tension.
And for this penance to be a true virtue, it has to
include an indomitable hope that can survive even in the worst of
scenarios. In fact, this hope gets stronger the uglier also the
warfare gets.
It's a hope based on God's never-sparing mercy. Some
relevant words of St. Paul: “I am sure that he who began a good work
in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil
1,6) It would be good if these Pauline assurance forms the deep
attitude we should have toward our fragile human condition.
Besides, we should not forget that nothing happens in our
life without at least the permission and tolerance of God. And if he
allows something to happen, no matter how evil it is, it is because a
greater good can be derived from it. Precious lessons can also be
learned from our sinfulness.
God predestines no one to fail definitively, although we
have the power, due to our freedom, to go against God's will and
saving designs. This truth of our faith should never be forgotten,
especially in our deep moments of misery and misfortune.
The virtue of penance also includes the desire and
practice of regular and frequent recourse to the sacrament of penance,
where through the ministry of priests, Christ comes to us as father,
friend, judge and doctor. This sacrament not only reconciles us with
God, but also repairs whatever damage our sin would cause on others
and the Church in general.
It's good that the practice of confession becomes a habit
and is approached with the proper dispositions and preparation, making
a thorough examination of conscience, contrition, purpose of
amendment, confession and acts of penance.
As a sacrament, confession gives us, aside from
sanctifying grace, some special and sacramental grace that would make
us at the same time more sensitive and resistant to our weaknesses and
temptations. There is a kind of strength that it gives and that is
useful to our daily spiritual battles.
This virtue of penance also includes the desire and
practice of continuing atonement and reparation. This can be done in
many ways—exerting greater effort to pray, being more generous with
our sacrifices and daily self-denials, especially in food, drink, and
comfort. It can be done also by doing many corporal and spiritual
works of mercy, etc.
All of these should produce an inner joy in us. That's a
sure sign the virtue of penance is alive in us.
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