“Think upon these things”(Phil.4:8)
Fr. Campbell
“When
the fullness of time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born
under the Law, that he might redeem those who were under the Law, that
we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God has
sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father.’ So
that he is no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, an heir also
through God” (Gal.4:4-7).
God
wanted nothing but the best for His Divine Son. We know that the Woman
God chose to be His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, was prepared for
her role in the best possible way. She was conceived without the stain
of Original Sin, and even at her birth she was already the greatest
human being who ever walked this earth. We can say this because we do
not call her Son, Jesus Christ, a human being. He was a Divine Being who
took upon himself our human nature and condition.
If
God created such a perfect Mother for His Son, would He take less care
in creating the man who would be his legal father in this world, even if
not His biological father? This man would have to be a perfect example
of the manly virtues and qualities God wanted His Son to acquire. That
man was St. Joseph. With Mary and Joseph to teach Him and guide Him,
Jesus would be well prepared for His mission as our Divine Savior. St.
Luke says in his Gospel:
“And the child grew and became strong. He was full of wisdom and the grace of God was upon him” (Lk.2:40).
But
God also cares for OUR formation as His chosen disciples. Because our
human nature has been weakened by Original Sin, we must struggle against
the trials and temptations of this life. Holy Scripture says that even
the just man falls seven times a day (Prov.24:16). We cannot expect to
remain sinless for long without the sacramental remedies provided by the
Holy Catholic Church. The seven Sacraments help us to become strong in
our faith and to find our way to Heaven.
It has been widely reported in the last few days, as in Newsweek,
that the manifest heretic, “Papa” Bergoglio, led a little boy to
believe that his recently deceased atheist father was in Heaven, because
he was a “good” father. We must point out that it is not ordinary human
goodness that gets us to Heaven, but our faith in Jesus Christ. Our
good works in this life will count for nothing if we do not believe. The
boy’s father was an atheist. Our Lord always asked for faith from His
hearers, as when He said to His Apostles just before His Ascension:
“He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned” (Mk.16:16).
Our
faith in these evil days is severely challenged, and we can expect an
even rougher road ahead. Our access to the Sacraments will not last
indefinitely. While we still can, we must make good use of them. St.
Paul speaks with urgency:
“On
behalf of Christ, therefore, we are acting as ambassadors, God, as it
were, appealing through us. We exhort you, for Christ’s sake, be
reconciled to God. For our sakes he made him to be sin who knew nothing
of sin, so that in him we might become the justice of God… Behold, now
is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!”
(2Cor.5:20,21;6:2).
There
are, of course, certain conditions to be met. When we approach the
Lord’s altar to receive Him in Holy Communion, we must be in the state
of grace. For this reason, we have confessions before every Mass. All
serious sins, that is, mortal sins, must be confessed and absolved in
the confessional before one receives Holy Communion. This is so even if
one has already confessed his sins to God and had perfect sorrow for
them, or perfect contrition as it is called. This is expressed by the
words, “I detest all my sins… because they offend Thee, my God, who art
all good and deserving of all my love”.
What
we call imperfect contrition is expressed by the words, “I detest all
my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell”. This
is sufficient to have one’s sins absolved in the confessional. If one
has been unable to get to confession, there is no shame in not
approaching the altar, as there may be various reasons for not receiving
Holy Communion.
It
is not necessary to confess venial sins before Holy Communion, although
they may be confessed if one wishes. Before the priest can give
absolution, there must be at least one sin, venial or mortal, to
absolve. Otherwise absolution cannot be given, but only a blessing. A
sin already confessed previously may be confessed again to fulfill this
requirement.
This
means that if one has only venial sins to confess, it is not necessary
to stand in line for confession. If you don’t feel it is necessary to go
to confession any particular Sunday, or even for several Sundays,
perhaps that will make room for someone who is particular anxious to get
to confession. These are difficult times, and we must make the
adjustments that are necessary to help as many people as possible to
receive the Sacraments. I try to be in the confessional at 8 AM each
Sunday morning, and on ordinary weekdays about 9:15 AM.
These words of the Lord from the book of the prophet Isaiah should give us hope:
