THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Low Sunday

7 April 2024

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends,

In today's Gospel, we see Jesus miraculously appear to the Apostles who were behind locked doors in the upper room. They are greeted with, "Peace be to you." He shows Himself to them so that they will believe that He has truly risen. All their fear, worry, and agitation are to be set aside so that peace may enter into their hearts and souls.

At this time, Jesus gives them (and their successors in the Church) the power to forgive sins. The power to forgive sins requires a knowledge of the sins to be forgiven. With Jesus, it is evident that because He is God, He knows even the most secret sins of everyone. With the Apostles, it is necessary that the sinner comes forth and humbly confesses his sins and asks them to apply the power that Jesus gave them and forgive him for his sin. Confession is, therefore, necessary for us.

St. Thomas was not present the first time Jesus appeared, and he expressed his doubts to the other Apostles. Though no one visibly saw Jesus, He was there; He saw and heard all that St. Thomas said and did. Even more, Jesus saw into the heart and mind of St. Thomas. We see proof of this the next time Jesus manifests Himself to the Apostles, and St. Thomas is also present. Jesus presents St. Thomas with the very words he used to express his doubts and invites him to touch Him and believe.

No matter how secret, our sins are evident and openly seen by God. He sees them, detests them, and must punish them unless we renounce them and cast them away from us. To whom shall we renounce them? To His representative — a priest in the Sacrament of Penance. It is not enough to secretly confess them to Jesus. This is only the first step. We must humble ourselves and openly admit them to a priest in the secrecy of Confession to avoid the eternal shame and embarrassment of having them revealed in the open court of the Last Judgment.

As with worldly criminal cases, it must be so in spiritual ones. The world needs an investigator and an investigation. Our souls need an investigator (our consciences) and an investigation (examination of conscience). The world needs a prosecutor to present the crime to the judge. Our souls need us to become our own prosecutors in presenting our sins to be judged. We come privately self-accused in the present time before God's priest to spare ourselves from being publicly or openly accused before God in eternity. There must be a judge in the world, and he must pass a sentence. In the spiritual life, the priest is the judge appointed by God and is given the task of passing sentence.

The degree of our culpability can vary quite widely, and so can the severity of the penance imposed upon us, but in the end, the priest must either forgive or retain our sins. It is an either-or situation. In the worldly courts, seldom is complete mercy ever shown — many times, there can be a reduction of the crime and, therefore, a reduction in the punishment, but to show complete mercy is rare. The accuser or injured party will not allow for a full pardon.

It is just the opposite in spiritual life. The sinner comes self-accused, humbled, willing, and even eager for a penance with perfect contrition, hoping for the mercy of God's complete pardon. God is the injured party, and He does not want to see us destroyed but seeks our repentance so that we can be united with Him in Heaven. He tells us that there is more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine who do not need repentance. Our eternal death and destruction are not what He wants at all — no matter how much we have injured or abused Him.

In the confessional, there is no need for a long and drawn-out trial. The guilty party humbly confesses his sins, pleads guilty, and begs for mercy. The Victim (Jesus) seeks not the justice of eternal punishment but mercy and forgiveness. The priest acting in the Name of God mercifully judges, imposes a light salutary penance, and freely gives absolution — spiritual forgiveness of our sins.

By self-accusation and humble contrite confession, we exchange the eternal punishment, which is just and called for, with a salutary temporal penance. The gates of Heaven are opened for us once again. It is a joyful occasion for everyone. God is pleased, and all of heaven rejoices over our repentance, our souls are set free, and joy fills our hearts; the priest is happy to be God's instrument to bring this mercy and happiness to us when we have fallen. The focus is not on sin but on God's love and mercy manifested in our souls' lives. In this way, the words of Jesus, when greeting the Apostles, are now directed to every repentant sinner: "Peace be to you."

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