Ave Maria!
Ordinary of
the Mass “I give thanks
to my God always for you, The Epistle and Gospel today speak
of two things that are closely related: the reality of grace, and the
forgiveness of sins. In fact, it can be said that these two things sum up
the earthly mission of our Lord Jesus Christ; that they point to His reason
for becoming one of us and dying on the Cross. And that reason, of course,
was to undo some of the damage of original sin. We know that before the Fall, man
lived in perfect harmony with God. He spoke directly with Him and felt His
love on a direct and personal level. Before the Fall man was in perfect
control of himself, and was free from the scourge of sickness and death.
These great privileges which man possessed are often referred to as the
preternatural gifts that God gave to Adam and Eve. The word “preternatural”
means that these gifts raised man above his own proper nature, making him
somewhat like the angels, and closer to God. But, of course, we know that
all this was lost when man in the person of Adam and Eve chose to disobey
and reject God. But yet, our Lord did become one of
us; did suffer and die for us on the Cross; and did raise Himself up from
the dead. And by doing these things, He paid the price for our
disobedience, and restored, at least in part, the preternatural gifts of
Adam and Eve. By His actions, He obtained forgiveness for us, and
consequently He restored us to grace. Grace, we learned from our
Catechisms, is fundamentally of two kinds; we speak of "sanctifying grace"
and of "actual grace." The first, sanctifying grace, is
quite special, as it restores some of that direct communication with God
that Adam and Eve possessed in paradise. It restores in some measure that
intimate experience of the love of God. The individual in the state of
sanctifying grace can be said to have the life of God dwelling within His
soul; we say that he is a “temple of the Holy Ghost.” To acquire this sanctifying grace,
we must be free from all serious sin. Again, we see the relationship of
forgiveness to grace. Our Lord gave us His sanctifying grace in Baptism,
both figuratively and literally washing away every stain of sin from our
souls. Through Baptism we joined our Lord in His death and resurrection;
death to our sins, and resurrection to eternal life. Even after Baptism, whenever we fall
from Grace, we can seek forgiveness again in the Sacrament of Penance,
confessing our sins to Christ in the person of His priest. And after a good
Confession we can proceed to increase in sanctifying grace through the
reception of the other Sacraments, particularly by receiving our Lord
Himself in Holy Communion. But there is also another kind of
grace, the one we call “actual” grace, for it helps us in all the acts we
are called on to perform in the cause of our lives; to do what we are
required to do according to our state in life; to do good, and to avoid
evil. Actual grace is all the more important to us in that it is a
demonstration of God's extreme generosity we can receive actual grace
even when we are in the state of serious sin. It is through actual grace
that unbelievers are led to believe; through actual grace that believers
are led to Baptism; and through actual grace that sinners are led back to
God through sorrow for sin and Sacramental Confession. And, of course, actual grace is also
for those in the state of grace; to preserve them in that state; to
strengthen them against the temptations of the world, so that they keep
themselves free from sin. And, it should surprise no one that the best way
to increase in this actual grace is through frequent Confession (even of
venial sins, or sins previously confessed) and reception of the other
Sacraments. For actual grace is also tied to God's forgiveness. The Gospel shows us that this
forgiveness of sins which is so intimately tied up with grace is something
special indeed. When our Lord healed the man with palsy, what did He do?
Instead of saying something like “arise and walk,” Jesus said to him, “Be of
good heart son; thy sins are forgiven thee.”[2]
For Jesus knew the connection between sickness and sin; that this man's
sufferings were ultimately the result of original sin. Occasionally, almighty God gives his
priests the power to heal. You probably can't find a priest who doesn't
have a story about someone whom he anointed becoming unexpectedly well. But
death is a reality we all must face. And even if God miraculously allows us
a few more months or even years, we will one day die. Yet this is true only
in the physical order. Through the gift of grace; through the gift of
forgiveness; God has raised us up and restored us to everlasting life. He asks only that we seek these
gifts, and offer Him our love in return! “I give thanks
to my God always for you,
[1] Epistle: 1 Cointhians i: 4-8 http://www.drbo.org/x/d?b=drb&bk=53&ch=1&l=4#x
[2] Gospel: Matthew ix: 1-8 http://www.drbo.org/x/d?b=drb&bk=47&ch=9&l=1#x
[3] Epistle: 1 Cointhians i: 4-8 http://www.drbo.org/x/d?b=drb&bk=53&ch=1&l=4#x
IHS
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost --12 October AD 2014
Mass Text - Latin
Mass Text - English
for the grace of God that is given you in Jesus Christ.”[1]
for the grace of God that is given you in Jesus Christ.”[3]
NOTES:
