There should exist a harmony among believers. By its very nature sin breaks down this harmony which should exist. There are some who prescribe to a private reality concerning sin and redemption. Therefore they would say that my sin only effects me or I don’t need the sacrament of confession because my sin is between me and God alone.
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “The sinner wounds God’s honor and love, his own human dignity as a man called to be a son of of God, and spiritual well-being of the Church, of which each Christian ought to be a living stone. To the eyes of faith no evil is graver than sin and nothing has worse consequences for sinners themselves, for the Church, and for the whole world.”
A question was once posed to newspaper asking, “What is wrong with the world?” To this question GK Chesterton gave a very simple answer, “I am.”
And so when we give into sin, fail to take sin seriously, or decide not to frequent the sacrament of confession we fail to live as one created in the image and likeness of God and in return hurt our relationship with God and others. As was mentioned by St. John Paul II in his visit to the United States in 1983: “Only when the faithful recognize sin in their own lives are they ready to understand reconciliation and to open their hearts to penance and personal conversion. Only then are they able to contribute to the renewal of society, since personal conversion is also the only way that leads to the lasting renewal of society.”
In light of this we should see the true reality which was reflected in GK Chesterton’s simple answer of “I am” given to the newspaper’s question. Our Gospel puts this into perspective: “If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee, leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother.”
Now if we can understand all that has been said here we should be able to understand the true importance of this Gospel passage. Again sin is not a problem between me and God alone and the sacrament of confession is necessary for through our committing of sin we have broken the harmony that should exist between ourself and God, His Church on this earth, and with each other. Therefore our sin harms society even if the sin that we commit goes unnoticed by the human eye.
In this world we can see the many injustices that exist and it is easy for us to point the finger outwardly upon others without pointing the finger inwardly upon ourself. To think how different this world and our society would be if we took our faith in Christ Jesus to heart and do not so easily abandon it at the rise of temptation. My brothers and sisters in Christ I invite you to make use of the sacrament of confession without haste if you discern that you have committed mortal sin and I invite you to make use of confession frequently if you have not. Through the use of this sacrament may we come to restore the harmony which has been lost through our participation in sin by taking our ownership of it and coming to humble ourself in Christ’s mercy which endures forever.
