Sinners go first!
82 years after the death of sister Faustina and two thousand years after Jesus' death on the cross, we still have a problem with God's Mercy.
"The greatest sinners have the right to mercy before others." (cf. Diary 1146) This is not the opinion of a deluded charismatic or a liberal bishop. This is what Jesus himself said in a conversation with the Secretary of Divine Mercy. Are we ready to really care about these words?
Divine Mercy is not a sugar-coated cookie that we receive as a reward for good deeds. It is not a bonus for a well-made confession. It is God who is Mercy! Mercy is the essence of the relationship that God builds with us. It is the open wound of Jesus' pierced heart. And not what we have gained in life, what we have and what we are, but only His mercy determines our value.
- The Church is facing a great task - once my friend told me. He is associated with the Community of the Good Shepherd, who has been working for many years among the poor, alcoholics, drug addicts and repeat offenders. - Christ calls us to open ourselves to people who are outside the Church. The one who might have a fifth wife. For an alcoholic, drug addict. For a thief, a murderer, a prostitute. A woman who had several abortions, a politician who considers himself a Catholic and acts against the teaching of the Church. Are we ready for it? Are we aware of what this entails? And maybe this will destroy all our thinking about the Church so far. It will destroy the appearance of our religiosity.
We already have our world in order, our concept of the Church. We come to church on Sunday like to a hypermarket, we get what we came for, the Mass lasts 45 minutes and that is it, we leave. But maybe a drug addict will sit next to me at Mass. A prostitute who was admitting men, and her child at that time was sitting on the street. Dirty and smelly homeless man. They will proclaim that Jesus is Lord because they have just experienced His love. But when we accept them into the Church, we will also have to accept the whole world from which they come, their experiences, which make a hair stand up on our heads.
Are we ready for it? The Word of God shows us, all the time, that God works on the poor, sinners, traitors, murderers, and prostitutes. Jesus says that they will enter the kingdom of God before us and will judge us. May we be there a step behind them.
Yesterday, after my article “Abortion and the Church”, I received several e-mails calling me to condemn some politicians and even some of the bishops. I hope that today's reflection is an answer to these emails. Only Love is the sole “medicine” for all individual and social ailments. God is Love and is the Father of those who love.
Hate is the way to hell. Satan is the haterand the father of those who hate.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george