Tag: Forgiveness

What Am I Supposed to Do?

You have been told, O mortal, what is good
   and what the Lord requires of you:
Only to do justice and to love goodness,
   and to walk humbly with your God.
(Micah 6:8)

This doesn’t sound right!
   I thought what God expects from me is to obey the Ten Commandments:
   1. – I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange gods before me.
   2. – You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
   3. – Remember to keep holy the LORD’S Day.
   4. – Honor your father and your mother.
   5. – You shall not kill.
   6. – You shall not commit adultery.
   7. – You shall not steal.
   8. – You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
   9. – You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
   10. – You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
   This is not such a hard list to follow—most religious people more or less do!
   Besides the Ten Commandments, I thought what God expects from me is to obey the “Commandments of the Church”:
   1. – Keep Sundays and Holidays of Obligation holy, by hearing Mass and resting from servile work.
   2. – Keep the days of fasting and abstinence appointed by the Church.
   3. – Go to Confession at least once a year.
   4. – Receive the Blessed Sacrament at least once a year, and that about Easter time.
   5. – Contribute to the support of our pastors.
   6. – Not to marry within certain degrees of kindred, nor to solemnize marriage at the forbidden times.
  In practice, this can be a somewhat more specific and demanding list to follow—but most “practicing Catholics” more or less do!

   The danger of having religious laws, rules, and regulations to obey is that we may treat them like civil laws, rules, and regulations—that is to say, if we can “get away” with it, we may not observe and obey them as we should.

Trust in the Lord and do good.
   that you may dwell in the land and
   live secure.
Find your delight in the Lord
   who will give you your heart’s desire.
(Psalm 37:3-4)

This doesn’t sound right either!
   Do justice – love goodness – walk humbly with God – trust in the Lord – do good – find your delight in the Lord.
   This seems like a very easy business, a bit vague but easy enough to do.
   Ah, that’s the temptation—and misunderstanding—just because something sounds simple and easy doesn’t mean that it is!
   A long or short checklist of specific duties, regulations, or rules is much easier to observe and follow than a short list of complex and challenging ideals.
   When we were children, we learned how a good child should behave. When we were taught about going to confession before communion, we had a clear and easy checklist and self-accusations in mind.
   It’s not good enough for us to behave like a child all our lives. It’s not enough to “go to confession” like you were first taught as a child. “Goodness” and “trust in the Lord” are much more than something you breakdown into a sort of spiritual scorecard!
   Micah’s advice was right on—and still is easier said than done!




20 August 2023

WTHOGATAP

Will I ever stop screwing things up?
   WTHOGATAP!
   Why do I so often start out well and then forget to stick to my plan?
   WTHOGATAP!
   Why have I said such stupid things again?
   WTHOGATAP!
   Why did I blow such a great relationship?
   WTHOGATAP!
   Why did I forget to keep such an important appointment?
   WTHOGATAP!
   How could I lose my way, going down such a familiar path?
   WTHOGATAP!
   Why did I drink so much again, even though I know better?
   WTHOGATAP!
   Why did I stay out so late when I had such important things to do the next morning?
   WTHOGATAP!
   Why did I boast about things I never accomplished?
   WTHOGATAP!
   Why do I pretend to be someone different than who I really am?
   WTHOGATAP!
   Am I doomed to be so weak and lost forever?
   WTHOGATAP!
   Why do I so often end up in the wrong place when I know the right way so well?
   WTHOGATAP!
   Why am I on a road to Hell paved with good intentions?
   WTHOGATAP!
   Why do I do the opposite of what I know is right and good!
   WTHOGATAP!
   I’m tired of it all; sometimes I think I’d be better dead!
   WTHOGATAP!
   I want to change who I am and what I’m doing.
   WTHOGATAP!

   When I really look in the mirror—a real one that really shows the truth, one that doesn’t fake it by showing me what I want to see—it’s usually a downer!
   It seems I’m always letting myself down; I’m so often not getting things right; I keep making dumb choices! What’s wrong with me!
   You’re a creature, not the Creator!
   You’re limited, not all knowing!
   You’re weak, not all powerful!
   You’re right to be saddened, because you really know better.
   Don’t let yourself sink deeper into the swamp of self-reproach, regret, and sadness because of broken intentions and despair!
   You know you should know better. You’ve seen the warning signs. You know deep down inside yourself where your road is really going. You know you’ve failed before and will fail again.
   Okay, you are facing reality, you are trying to be very honest, brutally honest!
   It means you have to accept the fact that you’ve blown things before and are doing it again! You know very well—proven by long experience—that you’re not perfect and you’re not infallible!
   Let’s face it, your report card about your life may have some high scores, but it’s never going to be 100%.
   It’s not your laziness, indifference, failings, or stupidity—it’s just that you’re fundamentally imperfect, in the exact meaning of the word.
   Because you’re not the Creator, you’re always going to be limited unless he intervenes and helps you.
   That’s the great secret: With The Help Of God All Things Are Possible!



9 July 2023

Judging Rightly

In his sermon On Pastors, St. Augustine said:
   For what person can judge rightly concerning another? Our whole daily life is filled with rash judgements. The one of whom we had despaired is converted suddenly and becomes very good. The one from whom we had anticipated a great deal suddenly fails and becomes very bad. Neither fear nor hope is certain.
   What any one is today, that one scarcely knows. Still in some way that person does know what he/she is today. What that person will be tomorrow, however, he/she does not know.
   Remember in the account of the crucifixion of Jesus what he said to the “good thief”, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
   He wasn’t talking to a “good” guy who was being misjudged according to the criminal justice systems of his day; he was talking to a convicted criminal—but a convicted criminal who had a last-minute change of heart when he saw and heard and somehow glimpsed something of who Jesus was at the end of both their lives!
   Somehow, this sort of goes against the grain when it comes to our relationships with others, especially difficult others.
   Maybe our memories are too good so that we hold on to a long list of offenses and dishonesties of another, never forgetting and never forgiving.
   Maybe we fear being taken in and being judged naïve or stupid, if some unexpected and hard-to-believe show of repentance is displayed by a presumably incorrigible relative, friend, acquaintance, or enemy, and we pardon them.
   St. Peter wrestled with that. Remember his asking Jesus, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?”Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18: 21-22)

   Jesus wasn’t setting a sort of new limiting goal when he said, “seventy-seven times.” He basically was saying you should keep forgiving ridiculously more times than anyone would imagine. Forgiveness should have no limits!
   Dumb! Stupid! Being a sucker! Being taken advantage of! Naïve!
   Sure, that’s often what people may say, judging you, if you try to live up to the high standard Jesus sets. But whose judgement counts the most? Other people’s or God’s?
   Don’t be afraid of forgiving or forgetting too much. Remember, Jesus also said,
   “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5)
   “Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.
   “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:9-12)
   Better to forgive too much than too little!
   “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” [A quote from a sailor, not from the Bible]


30 October 2022

Ransomed, Healed, Restored, Forgiven

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
To his feet your tribute bring;
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Evermore his praises sing . . .
             (from Lauda Anima)

To be clear about the conditions referred to when we sing the hymn, we’re praising God because we’re totally and completely liberated, exonerated, and once again given a fresh start. We use powerful words:
   Ransomed:  1. redeemed from captivity, bondage, detention etc., by paying a demanded price.  2. delivered or redeemed from punishment for sin.
   Healed:  1. made healthy, whole, or sound; restored to health; free from ailment.  2. brought to an end or conclusion as conflicts between peoples or groups, usually with the strong implication of restoring former amity; settled; reconciled.  3. freed from evil; cleansed; purified.
   Restored:  1. brought back into existence, use, or the like; reestablished.  2. brought back to a former, original, or normal condition, as a building, statue, or painting.  3. brought back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor.  4. put back to a former place, or to a former position, rank, etc..  5. given back; made return or restitution of (anything taken away or lost).  6. reproduced or reconstructed (an ancient building, extinct animal, etc.) in the original state.
   Forgiven:  1. granted pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolved.  2. gave up all claim on account of remittance of (a debt, obligation, etc.).  3. granted pardon to (a person).  4. ceased to feel resentment against:  5. canceled an indebtedness or liability of.
   If ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, we’re in really good shape. All that pulls us back or pulls us down is gone and over with. There are no more claims upon us, no more unpleasant consequences to face.

   There is nothing to fear any more. The guilt and paralysis is gone. The slate is wiped clean. We have a fresh start.
   Truly, it is appropriate to sing songs of praise and gratitude—to move on with great expectations because of the mercy, pardon, and promise of the Lord.
   You know what? Much of the time we don’t do it! We don’t praise God, with free hearts and spirits, delighting in a new start. Perversely, we often have a fatal fascination with our weaknesses, failures, and losses.
   Why are so drawn to look into the mirror of our life—of our limited, flawed life with its history of missed opportunities and poor performances, of nursing of wounds to pride and ego, of lamentations of our many and constant failures, of damages done great and small, of withdrawals and self-defeats?
   Face it! We are all limited and weak creatures. Except for a special grace of God, our lives are imperfect, riddled with exaggerations, evasions, misrepresentations, failures, mistakes, and faults.
   God knows! He knows us, better than we do, and our responsibility for our frequent blindness, indifference, pretense, falsification, and selfishness.
   God forgives! Even so, we often find it hard, if not impossible, to forgive ourselves with our wounded pride.
   God made us to be what we are, human creatures. God is not blind to our failures, but God is merciful.
   What foolish pride it is that we never cease looking at ourselves and our weaknesses and rarely look at and sing the astoundingly generous and undeserved pardon, mercy, and love of God, who repeatedly ransoms, heals, restores, and forgives us.


26 December 2021

What the Lord Requires of You

   You have been told, O mortal, what is good,
     and what the Lord requires of you:   Only to do justice and to love goodness,
     and to walk humbly with your God.
(Micah 6:8)

   To know what the Lord require of us is a never-ending quest through the entire course of our lives.
   Traditionally, as a child, we may have been taught that part of the answer was to obey the commandments and laws of God and of the Church. In practice, it also usually included to do what our parents, family, clan, friends, fellow believers, fellow citizens, and others who influence our lives told us was right and proper.
   In the previous verses Micah posed the question with some examples of the traditional answers of his time:

   With what shall I come before the Lord,
     and bow before God most high?
   Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
     with calves a year old?
      Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
     with myriad streams of oil?
   Shall I give my firstborn for my crime,
     the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
(Micah 6:6-7)

   He used some extreme examples of types of sacrifices that were considered possible requirements of God.
   We do something similar ourselves in raising our children, when we give them long lists of does and don’ts, sometimes in great detail.
   No wonder that we tend to think first of guilt and sinfulness when the question of what the Lord require of us comes up.
   Look at our traditions and rituals. What an emphasis we give to the negative, to sacrifice, atonement, mortification, and giving up pleasurable things when we think about how we stand with God and what he requires of us.

   Jesus taught us to address God in prayer as a father, as a loving parent, not as supreme being, master of the universe, or an all-powerful and demanding judge and ruler.
   Hopefully we may have been blessed by having a loving parent and so have some positive appreciation of this image of God. And, even if we had a parent limited in his or her ability to love and care for us, we probably yearned for and imagined a better.
   With good parents, we have only to reach out to be embraced, consoled, understood, accepted, and loved. We never doubt their limits to respond compassionately and forgive our offenses. We even reluctantly understand the fairness of some of the restrictions or punishments they placed upon us.
   We’re not fundamentally afraid of a good parent, nor totally concealing our behavior. We instinctively trust them to be merciful and forgiving.
   Micah might not have had precisely this kind of image and understanding of God, but he certainly would have understood it.
   As a prophet and teacher he was accentuating the positive, encouraging focusing on the underlying nature of the Lord, and trying to liberate those who heard his word from being over whelmed by their failings and need for punishment and atonement.
   It’s strange, isn’t it, that, even though probably we all more or less always knew this, in practice we still often tend to act as though God is to be feared and judge ourselves more harshly than we may deserve.
   It’s almost a kind of egoism, that we can be so unforgiving of our limitations and so imagining of deserved punishment for them.
   Remember, what Jesus requires of us is to “Love one another as I have loved you!”


5 September 2021

Expansive in Folly, Limited in Sense

Solomon finally slept with his fathers,
   and left behind him one of his sons,
Expansive in folly, limited in sense,
   Rehoboam, who by his policy made the people rebel;
   (Wisdom of Ben Sira (Sirach) 47:23a)

   “Expansive in folly, limited in sense.”
   What a blunt summary of the life of the third ruler of the united kingdom of Judah and Israel, Rehoboam, son of Solomon, son of David.
   They weren’t a dynasty of angels. David, hailed in tradition as the greatest king of Israel, the very prototype of the good king, was an enterprising young man, a military tactician, a renowned battle leader, fighter and killer.
   He also was a man who contrived to sleep with the wife of one of his officers, Uriah, who was away on active duty. And, later finding her pregnant, he ordered that her husband should be placed in the front line of a major attack and then abandoned to die there.
   When his bastard child died, David repented, and God forgave him. He married the widow, Bathsheba, and fathered another child with her, Solomon, who ultimately succeeded him.
   Solomon ruled a peaceful, united kingdom. He went down in history as the prototype of the wise man, but he also was a womanizer, who for political reasons introduced pagan worship into his kingdom to satisfy some of his many foreign wives.
   With the ascent of his son Rehoboam, the briefly united kingdom began to fracture and fail. There’s not much said about him in the Bible beyond the brief summary, “Expansive in folly, limited in sense.”
   David and Solomon also had their follies, misjudgments, mistakes, and failures—but at least they regretted, repented, and amended their ways.

   The morals of this little history are many, but one thing stands out—that nobody is perfect, always gets things right, doesn’t make stupid and even destructive decisions.
   However, some people do come to their senses, realize that they have failed or damaged others, and change. They admit their mistakes and strive to do better.
   Every idolized human person has clay feet. Short of divine intervention, of a special act of God, no one is faultless, and sometimes the faults are major, monumental, and their unintended consequences may live on and can’t be remedied.
   We would need superhuman wisdom and strength never to fail. Everyone’s biography has sections we’d love to edit away. But our failures are not the ultimate measure and judgment of our lives, no matter how great or consequential they may be.
   In this regard, St. Paul’s message to the Corinthians is consoling (1 Co 1:25-31):

   Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”

1 August 2021

The Doctrine of Fallibility

I don’t think that there ever has been a solemn, ecclesiastical definition of the doctrine of fallibility. You know why? There’s no need to.
As anyone with even half a grain of common sense knows, human beings are fallible.
That means that they can be deceived or make mistakes or fall into error or do something wrong (in traditional religious terms, they can sin).
I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude or offensive, but you are fallible. And, to be perfectly (?) honest, I’m fallible, too. You might say, it’s part of the human condition.
Don’t be unnecessarily ashamed! It’s the way God made us, so to speak. It’s the nature of a created being, It means we all have limitations, we all are less than perfect.
Yes. Even you. Even me.
I remember this being discussed in a Theology class years ago. The teaching was that, except for a special act and provision of God, no human person has been, is, or can be without sin.
Has there ever been a “dispensation from fallibility” for a human person? Yes!
– Mary, the mother of Jesus: By a special dispensation of God, she was born even without “original sin” and by the grace of God never sinned during her whole life. (Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.)
– The Bishop of Rome: If and when he speaks ex cathedra, in the fullness of his authority as successor of Peter and head of the church regarding matters of doctrine, he cannot lead the people of God astray. (Doctrine of Papal Infallibility.)
Many people would not agree about such dispensation or even think in such categories. Generally, we accept that human beings, being limited and therefore less than perfect, are fallible.
But, oh how shocked we sometimes can become in denouncing another’s failures!

All throughout human history, because we know about human fallibility, there have been social structures designed to moderate or react to the damage it can cause.
Training, apprenticeships, compulsory schooling, accreditations—rules, regulations, decrees, laws, judicial decisions, edicts, constitutions—legal punishments, classifications, competitions, disputes—they’re all needed in a world of fallible people, no matter how high their ideals and standards may be.
It really is hypocritical when puffed up with “righteous” indignation, we profess shock or surprised dismay by the failings of another. Failings are part of the nature of people.
Rather than entertain ourselves with the failings of others (which we often do), our challenge as fallible persons is how best to react to the manifestations of their fallibility.
All of our training, restraining, and punishing social structures are not enough. We also, each and all, need to have and bring to the table personal understanding (insight into what makes the other person tick), compassion (empathy for a fellow fallible), forgiveness (not forgetting, but remembering that failing is part of “doing what comes naturally”), and love (pardoning, empowering, and revitalizing).
There’s an incident near the end of Jesus’ life that his followers know well yet often forget:
When he was being crucified, so were two others—criminals. One mocked Jesus; the other asked to be remembered when he came into his kingdom. Jesus’ response to this very fallible thief was: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”


21 February 2021

Life Giving

It’s a curious arrangement: the day after Christians celebrate the birth of the Messiah, most commemorate the deacon Stephen, the first to die because of Jesus.
According to Acts of the Apostles, Stephen was filled with grace and power. Steeped in knowledge of the Jewish scriptures, he debated openly in Jerusalem with fellow Jews from various parts of the Roman Empire about the life, teachings, and identity of Jesus.
Some men made false charges of blasphemy about Stephen to the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish religious authority.
After hearing his testimony and witness to Jesus, the Sanhedrin adjudged him guilty and condemned him to death.
At that time, way before electric chairs, guillotines, and firing squads, capital punishment took the form of stoning the person to death, and so he died.
We hail Stephen as the first “martyr” (Greek for “witness”) to die, to give his life, for Jesus. Although his life was taken, Stephen had first chosen to give it away in service to his Master and the truth.
In the early years after the death of Jesus, many of his followers died similar deaths, giving their lives rather than betray their Lord and the truth. It was the era of martyrdom.
Over the centuries countless people have chosen to give their lives for God, although without becoming martyrs in the sense of being executed for their faith.
More often the gift of one’s life takes the form of years of generous, loving service of others, of a slow, patient, and persevering giving of possessions, time, freedom, and other assets and resources in the name of Jesus and fidelity to his teachings and example.
It’s a paradox in a way: The life worth living is a sacrificial life, for it is a life of giving and forgiving. It is a life of love.

Giving one’s life to save another’s often takes the form of a shockingly dramatic act of heroism, of extraordinary generosity—and rightly so. But, the slow, gradual, persevering giving of one’s life to save another’s also is heroic but less acclaimed.
Loving one’s innocent, helpless baby daughter or son is almost “doing what comes naturally”, although it’s not necessarily a universal pattern of behavior.
Loving one’s spouse usually is the root or the fruit of a good marriage, even though the love may wax or wane.
Loving all one’s extended family is often challenging and, alas, not always successful. Sometimes the price, the cost is too high!
Loving one’s nearby neighbor is more a matter of respect, correctness, and friendship; only sometimes does it seem to be a kind of love.
Loving the distant neighbor, fellow-citizen (or immigrant), foreigner—here’s where the notion of “love” hardly seems applicable!
Loving everybody, giving of one’s life for everybody or for anybody—that’s a bit much. Often, we consider it more stupid, senseless, or naïve than heroic!
When Stephen was dying, he prayed for his stoners, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
When Jesus was being nailed to the cross, he prayed for his executioners, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
At the last supper, the Lord’s legacy to his followers was, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Don’t get tired giving life. It’s the only really good way to live!

(Available in
Spanish translation)

27 December 2020

Eye upon the Doughnut

One of my first tastes of philosophy was as a child, in a coffee shop/restaurant, reading this jingle:

As you ramble on through life, brother,
Whatever be your goal,
Keep your eye upon the doughnut
And not upon the hole!

I thought it was great. I still do, but if you try too hard to analyze it, you may miss what it’s saying.
It’s an overall advice to be optimistic rather than pessimistic, to focus more on what you have than on what you don’t. It’s like that riddle of folk philosophy, “Is the glass half-empty or half-full?”
A longer version of the same thought is an old joke about two twin brothers, one always the optimist, the other, the pessimist. One Christmas morning, their parents decided to challenge them.
When the kids woke up, they took the pessimist to a room with a beautiful decorated tree surrounded by presents. He burst into tears. “Look at the star on top of the tree,” he cried, “It’s crooked!”
They took his brother to an empty room with nothing in it but straw and manure on the floor. He clapped his hands in delight, and cried out, “Where’s the pony?”
Going back to the jingle, it’s actually a false dichotomy—the hole in the middle is actually an integral part of the doughnut, a ring shaped piece of baked dough.
You might say that the absences—the missing things—in our life and behavior are also an integral part of our lives.
Not being God, we’re not perfect. Except for a special grace of God, no human person is or ever can be perfect.
We’re all somewhat “doughnut shaped”. We’re all “holey” people trying to become whole and “holy” people!

In the church of the apostles, the great emphasis was on the overwhelming love and mercy of God. Those who embraced the teachings of Jesus didn’t go about bewailing how imperfect they were. On the contrary, they were joyful that they were pardoned for their failings and were now sharers in a new life. And, they eagerly looked forward to wonderful things to come!
Somehow or other, as the centuries passed, maybe because people were “born into” Christianity and took the good news for granted, an emphasis on personal sin and sinfulness gradually became a much more important part of prayer and religious practice.
And, of course, the more we focus on the negative side of our life and behavior, the more down and discouraged we’re likely to become.
It’s a trap! Of course we’re not perfect people. So, of course, we can always find things to bewail—and we can always find others to call attention to our failings.
Let’s face it, we have a very bad habit of keeping our eye upon the hole, and not upon the doughnut!
Here’s another curious thing. You hear others bewailing that people don’t go to confession enough, as in the “old days”.
The roots of the rite of reconciliation were to allow a complete defector among those who had chosen to live according the teachings of Jesus, an “apostate”, to be re-admitted to the Christian community.
Thanks be to God, if we’re getting better and better! Convert your “examination of conscience” into a litany of thanks for the so many occasions of God’s love and mercy!


8 November 2020

Whose Sins You Forgive . . .

In the book of Isaiah, 22:15-25, Shelma, the master of the palace, is rebuked by the Lord, and his office is turned over to Eliakim: “I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one will shut, what he shuts, no one will open.”
Eliakim is no mere doorkeeper; the key symbolizes the vicarious authority conferred upon him to act in the name of his king.
In the gospel according to Matthew, 16:19, after Peter’s confession of faith, Jesus says to him, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
In the gospel according to John, 20:20, when the resurrected Jesus first appears to the disciples he says to them, “Receive the holy Spirit, Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
St. Augustine, in his sermon quoted in the office of readings for the Solemnity of Peter and Paul (second reading), offers us a challenging interpretation of these gospel texts.

As you are aware, Jesus chose his disciples before his passion and called them apostles; and among these almost everywhere Peter alone deserved to represent the entire Church. And because of that role which he alone had, he merited to hear the words: To you I shall give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. For it was not one man who received the keys, but the entire Church considered as one. . . . For the fact that it was the Church that received the keys of the kingdom of God is clear from what the Lord says elsewhere to all the apostles [disciples]: Receive the Holy Spirit, adding immediately, whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven, and whose sins you retain, they are retained.

This means that all the followers of Jesus have a share in this authority to open and shut, to bind and loose, to forgive and retain, although not all exercise this God-given authority in quite the same way.
For the sake of order in the Christian community, some bear more such authority than others; some have the responsibility of exercising it more generally and publicly.
Does this mean, for example, that in the absence and unavailability of a priest in a parish any lay person can begin to “hear confessions”? No, in fact even a priest must be authorized and empowered to do so; he need ‘faculties” from the bishop or his delegate.
Could a lay person be so authorized and empowered? Our current sacramental theology and canon law does not foresee such a possibility. (However, just because there is no precedent for something doesn’t necessarily mean that it is not possible.)
One thing is sure. every Christian is empowered and obliged to exercise a ministry of mercy.
If my brother or sister offends me and then later regrets and repents what was done and seeks pardon, I have the power to forgive (open, loose) or retain (shut, bind).
If I exercise love and mercy, by forgiving I remove the burden of guilt from my brother or sister, a liberation. If I chose not to forgive, then I retain the offense, and he or she remains burdened by it. What would that say about me as a follower of Jesus?
Remember, among Jesus’ parting words to his followers were: “Love one another as I love you.” (John 15:12)
It wasn’t a recommendation, it was a command!


7 July 2019