The Penance

Contrition

The Penance

God cannot be offended by sin, otherwise, if there are no acts of contriteness and humiliation, we will not be in the condition of obtaining mercy and the consequent punishment will be deserved. It can therefore be summed up: "If you weep with the contrite heart, you will be safe.".

It is written in the psalm: "If they violate my statutes and will not observe my commands, I will punish with the rod their sin and with scourges the guilt, but I will not remove them my grace." The Lord promises mercy, but his piety is conditioned by your wickedness. He understands men who fall by mistake or for some particular circumstance.

The flesh is innocent and does not allow it to become an instrument of guilt; it ensures that the desire does not keep from your will. The devil is skilled in spreading endless nets or cutting them of all sorts to make you fall into iniquity. Yes, it is the eye of the courtesan who catches the lover, is our eyes that tend those nets that will wrap us and tighten us. Therefore it is read: "Each one is caught with the ropes of his sins.".

It is necessary to exercise penance with zeal and promptness to avoid what describing the Gospel parable: "A tale had planted a tree of figs in the vineyard and came to seek fruit, but found none. So the winemaker: Behold, three years I come to look for fruits on this tree, but I do not find it. Cut it. Why do you have to exploit the terrain? “But he said, "Master, leave him again this year, until I have been digging him around and I will have put the fertilizer. We shall see whether it will bear fruit for the future; If not, you will cut it.".

Let us confess, therefore, to the Lord our sins, and he will bare our trespasses. With his power asunder our thorns and will prosper the fruits that we thought were dead forever. We follow the footsteps of those who conveniently plow their own land and gain eternal fruit. In this regard he teaches the Apostle: "Insulted, bless; persecuted, we endure; Slander, let us pray. " This is the way to love and spread spiritual seeds. This is the conduct to crush sin and to procure many spiritual fruits.

We must therefore exercise penance and not only to wash the blame with tears, but to cover the infamy of the past and avoid the charge of sin.
The prophet Jeremiah did not ignore the portentous drug of penance and made use of it in the Lamentations in favor of Jerusalem. Here are his words for a city that does penance: "Bitterly cried in the night, the tears descend upon the cheeks; No one brings comfort to her among all her lovers. The streets of Zion are grieving. “And he goes on: "For such things I weep... my eyes have faded for tears, because whoever comforted me is far from me.".

"The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence, they sprinkled with ashes their head, they have been sacked, they have made the virgins of Jerusalem to be bent on the ground. My eyes were worn for tears... My bowels are upset... for my glory has been scattered earth.".

David, through the weeping, obtained from Divine Mercy piety for his people who were attacked by death. When he was proposed to choose between three things, he preferred the one that would allow him more to treasure the Lord's mercy. And you are ashamed to mourn your sins when David even commanded the prophets to shed tears for the sake of the peoples?

Ezekiel had the order to weep over Jerusalem and received the volume at which the beginning is written: "Lamentations, sings, woe." Two sad arguments and an unpleasant one. Who, in fact, will weep more on this earth, shall be saved in the future life. "The heart of the sages in a house in mourning, the heart of the fools in a house in celebration." The Apostle Matthew writes: "Blessed are you who now weep, because you will laugh.".

Let us pour, therefore, tears as long as there is time, so that eternal happiness is assured. We fear the Lord, ask him for pity in order to confess our sins. We are remedying our mistakes, sheltering the fouls, so that we do not even say: "Oh or soul, the pious man has disappeared from the Earth, there is not among the men who is willing to amend".
Why do you feel ashamed to confess your sins before the Lord? He says, "Confess your infamy to be justified." In the eyes of those who are still in guilt, the prize of justification shines. In fact, those who admit spontaneously their sins are justified. "The righteous in the prize of his speech accuses himself." The Lord knows everything, he wants, however, to hear your voice, not already to punish but to forgive.

Let your doctor see your plague, so that you are cured. If you don't show it, he knows it, but he wants to hear your voice. Purify your scars with tears. A woman, narrates the gospel, has freed herself from her iniquity by washing with her tears the feet of Jesus.

Penance is therefore a highly effective drug that makes God's attitude change. The Lord wants prayer, demands faith, and pretends supplications in his honor. These are the right attitudes to get mercy.

I wished heaven, O Jesus that thou has destined me to wash your feet that I smeared while you were in me. Oh I could allow myself to purify myself from the filth with which I tarnished them with my bad work. Where to find the living water with which to wash them? I do not have the water, but the tears all, Oh if I could with them purify myself, while I wash your feet! How to do, because you tell me: "I forgive your sins, because you have loved"? I must move away from the quagmire of sin and open the heart to your love.