Are you humble enough to admit your sins and approach God again and again to ask for forgiveness? - Daily Reflections January 27,2014

GOOD AND BAD NEWS

 

When I discuss eschatology in my class, the teaching of the Church about the so-called Last Things (judgment, heaven, purgatory, hell), I ask my students who they think are in hell. Usually, they would say Judas Iscariot, Hitler, murderers, liars, adulterers, and so on. But when I continue asking whether they think that King David, an adulterer and murderer, or the woman caught in adultery, or St. Peter, a liar, are in hell, they stare at me as if I were an alien coming from another planet.

       We easily condemn people to hell because we focus only on the sins or crimes they have committed. But Jesus tells us today that “every sin will be forgiven and all the blasphemies men utter.” He has proven this throughout His ministry by forgiving even the worst of sins. That’s good news! So, is hell empty? Of course, hell exists and it’s not empty. An empty hell would contradict the teachings of Jesus and the Church.

       Jesus says, “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.” Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit includes persistent unbelief, mocking the power of God revealed in Jesus, and stubbornly refusing salvation.

       “God wants all to be saved,” St. Paul wrote. In the Gospels, we see that Jesus always reached out to save those who were on the brink of getting lost because of sin. God does not want anybody to be separated from Him forever. This is beautifully expressed by Jesuit Fr. Luis Bermejo: “Hell is not imposed by God but made by man. Ultimately, hell is the mystery of man’s self-determination and free responsibility... Man’s freedom is a sacred shrine where not even God dares to enter, and it is there, in the solitude of that shrine, that man makes his final act of rebellion against God....”

       God is always ready to forgive and save us, as long as we turn to Him and seek His forgiveness. The stubborn refusal of God’s love and forgiveness leads to self-inflicted eternal separation from God. May this never happen to us! Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you humble enough to admit your sins and approach God again and again to ask for forgiveness?

 

Lord, many times I have asked Your forgiveness, but I fall again and become ashamed to approach You again. May I never doubt Your endless compassion and always turn to You.