Mar 30 Sun
Does sin separate me from God?
We have been constituted children of God. As children, we are also heirs, heirs of God, and co-heirs with Jesus Christ.
This is a promise of incalculable gains and limitless happiness, which only in heaven will reach its fullness and complete achievement. Until then, we have the possibility of misusing the inheritance: this is what the younger prodigal son did. Like him, we could go away from our father’s house and waste all our wealth.
A Christian, as long as he is a pilgrim on earth, can dispose of his life freely; he can choose to be holy, serving in his father’s house, or he can choose to be a sinner, far away from it. The consequences are not similar.
Even more, the inclination to sin is in each person. The Vatican II tells us: “What divine Revelation makes known to us agrees with our experience. Examining his heart, man finds that he has inclinations toward evil. … Man is split within himself. As a result, all of human life, whether individual or collective, shows itself to be a dramatic struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness."
The temptation of grabbing the goods and going away can appear at any moment in life.
Mortal sin is the greatest tragedy that can happen to the Christian. It is so grievous this evil, that all mortal sins, even those of thought, turn men into sons of wrath and enemies of God.
Through sin, we lose sanctifying grace, which makes us children of God, remain subject to the devil, and become guilty of eternal damnation. “Don't forget, my son, that, for you, on earth, there is but one evil, which you must fear and avoid with the grace of God: sin."
And that day, when that young man went away from home, he considered himself very lucky, away from the limitations of his father.
Soon he began to suffer want. Outside God, man becomes a lonely and hungry being. He sinned to obtain a certain material pleasure; that pleasure was over and done, and sin remained. Joy vanished, and the chain remained. Satisfaction ended shortly and remorse took over. What a hard slavery!
He had to go to tend swine, the most shameful thing for a Jew.
But he “came to himself.” He examined his conscience and acknowledged his sin. This is the beginning of conversion: repentance. When one ignores or justifies his sin, conversion is blocked.
And, he decided to return to his father’s house. This is what a faithful man does after a big or small fall. When we stumble, we must stand up at once, with humility, without blaming others or the environment.
How close to God is the man who confesses his sin! Yes, God does not spurn a contrite heart. A humble person feels the need to ask God for pardon many times a day.
“God is waiting for us, like the father in the parable, with open arms, even though we don't deserve it. It doesn't matter how great our debt is. Just like the prodigal son, all we have to do is open our heart, to long for our Father's house, to wonder at and rejoice in the gift that God makes us, that of being his children, even though our response to him has been so poor."
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