One of the most famous saints is Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who in 1858 saw the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France. After her death, when her body was exhumed during her canonisation process, it was found that her body had remained intact. Today, one can see her body in the church of the Convent where she lived in Nevers. You might wonder, what does this have to do with today's reading? The Archbishop Emeritus of Malta, Monsignor Paul Cremona, once explained that sin is something of the body because it is with our bodies that we sin: so when the body disintegrates, it seems to be eradicating the sin within it. Now, in these saints, there is no sin, so God gives us this sign to show us that He is greater than the power of nature, which normally causes our bodies to disintegrate after death. We are saying all this today because the Word of God speaks to us about sin.
Often in our times, if you talk about sin, you are considered old-fashioned. But does sin exist? I don't think it takes much to realise how much evil exists in the world around us and even within us: so it would be unwise to see the enemy seemingly winning over us and start saying that he is no longer the enemy, or worse, make friends with him, because in this way, we would be giving the enemy permission to destroy us. In today's first reading, we see how Adam turned against God who created him and showed him in so many ways that He loved him. When Adam lost God's love, he immediately started accusing his wife of his sin: sin not only brings separation from God but also separation among humans, separation from nature, and separation within a person because it steals the peace of heart which is so important to them.
Faced with the reality of sin, many pretend it doesn't exist and thus give the power of evil permission to wreak havoc in their lives; others become pessimistic because they see no solution to the evil within them and around them; neither of these is the attitude of a believing Christian. The believing Christian knows that Jesus has conquered evil and sin, and no matter how much evil and sin rear their heads, in the end, they are defeated because Jesus, through His resurrection, triumphed over them.
So what should be the attitude of the Christian? The Christian is a person who lives with their feet on the ground and their gaze towards heaven, and therefore recognises and admits that sin exists in the world around them and within them. Secondly, the Christian knows that only Jesus can free them from sin, and therefore goes to Him, repenting of their sins and asking for sincere forgiveness. Here it is worth explaining what the sin against the Holy Spirit that Jesus mentioned in the gospel is, which is unforgivable: it is when someone recognises that Jesus is the salvation that God is offering to all humans, and despite this, still hardens their heart and refuses to accept Him. An example of this is those who saw Him perform a miracle and still found an excuse not to accept Him by saying that He was performing miracles by the power of the prince of demons. Jesus explains to them that this cannot be because if that were the case, it would mean that Satan was against himself, and a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.
Let us ask ourselves: do I recognise my sin, or am I burying my head in the sand and living as if sin does not exist? Do I accept that nothing and no one can harm me more than sin, because its harm goes beyond death? Do I believe that only Jesus can free me from this greatest enemy, and therefore do I approach Him repenting of my faults?
Lord, today you want to open our eyes to our greatest enemy, which is sin: help us not to fall into the temptation of our times to deny the existence of this greatest enemy to appear modern; above all, give us the grace to come to you with sincere repentance because we know that only you can free us and save us. Amen.
Comments