THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Low Sunday

16 April 2023

[Image]

The Sunday

Sermon

Click the button on the right to be told about updates. Your address will be kept strictly private.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Jesus' Resurrection is proof of His Divine Sacrifice. It is through His merits that we become recipients of God's grace. Grace is an unmerited gift. We do not deserve these gifts (graces) from God, nor can we ever earn or merit them. A Protestant mentality is very appealing today; it suggests that we only need to accept these graces without fear or worry and without any subsequent need to reform or change. This Protestant idea suggests that our efforts are useless, so we need not (should not) expend any energy in this direction. Any effort to improve ourselves is seen as a denial or refusal to accept the efficacy of the works of Jesus.

We like to use a saying to refute these heresies (errors): "Jesus redeemed us without our cooperation, but He will not save us without our cooperation." Jesus has made it clear that the merits of His works can only be applied to us if we hear Him (do what He has instructed us to do). The Gospels are replete with examples of this. We are to deny ourselves; we are to take up our daily cross; we are to follow Him. We are to follow the spirit of the Law rather than the letter of the Law —it is not enough to refrain from physical murder; Jesus commands us to refrain from harboring anger against our neighbor.

In today's Gospel reading (St. John 20. 19-31), we read that Jesus gave the power to forgive sins to His Apostles. "Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you. When He had said this, He breathed on them; and He said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."

From that moment, it has become incumbent upon us to show ourselves (our sins) to the Apostles' successors so that we may be forgiven. The merits of Jesus' Sacrifice are applied to our souls through their hands. Jesus comes to us through their hands. We cannot have life in us unless we receive the Body of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. However, only from the Apostles' successors can we truly receive Him.

The childish superstition of "Only believe and then sin on bravely," promoted by Protestantism, has proven to be a significant weapon in the devils' hands. We are lulled into the lethargy of sin by believing that we cannot do anything to help ourselves. That we should not even try to help ourselves. We are even led to believe that trying to help ourselves is somehow an affront or insult to Jesus and His Sacrifice on the Cross. In the Gospel, we find that Jesus forgave sinners, but with the warning to sin no more. He healed but with the command to show ourselves to the priest.

Today we must show our sins to His priest in the Sacrament of Confession. This requires that we have contrition (sorrow for our sins); we are accepting and willing to make a token reparation for our sins through whatever penance the priest may impose upon us, and that we make a resolution or firm purpose of amendment. These are undoubtedly the works of men, but they are performed in union with the works of Jesus. It is Jesus Who absolves (forgives) us through the instrumentality of His priest. It is Jesus Who says, through the priest, in the Confessional, "Go in peace. Your sins are forgiven."

It is often difficult to see Jesus in the person of His priests. We tend to imitate St. Thomas. We want to see physical proof. The physical proofs and miracles were abundant in the early days of the Church. We have their testimonies verified by their doubts and hesitations about the truth of all that Jesus taught and did. We are called upon to believe because Jesus said it. It is Jesus Who teaches us through the One Holy Catholic Church. Jesus' Words have been verified by St. Thomas and others so that we may be spared the doubts. We are now called to benefit from their doubts and hesitancy. "Because thou hast seen Me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed. Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing, you may have life in His Name."

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!