INTRODUCTION

    "...should any one be inclined to boast, not indeed of his works, but of the freedom of his will, as if the first merit belonged to him, this very liberty of good action being given to him as a reward he had earned, let him listen to this same preacher of grace, when he says: 'For it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of His own good pleasure;' and in another place: 'So, then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.' Now as, undoubtedly, if a man is of the age to use his reason, he cannot believe, hope, love, unless he will to do so, nor obtain the prize of the high calling of God unless he voluntarily run for it; in what sense is it 'not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy,' except that, as it is written, 'the preparation of the heart is from the Lord?'" (St. Augustine; The Enchirdion; chap 32)

    Mercy is something that goes hand in hand with God. It's His Divine Mercy that we pray for, hope for, and rely on. But we approach that search for mercy differently. "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord Who judges me" (1 Corinthians 4: 3-4).

    St. Paul is not aware of any wrong, or sin, he has committed, but that doesn't acquit him in his eyes. Why? Because he simply can't trust himself. For whatever reason, he may have sinned and been unaware of it. He holds the final judgment to God, no one else. This is due to a variety of reasons, one of the biggest is the society one grows up in. "Society conditioned by sin impedes one from following Jesus. Original sin and subsequent actual sins not only affect those directly involved but distort social arrangements and practices, cultural processes and products, so that there are real structures of sin (see Gaudium et Spes, Vatican II, 25). These structures are persisting realities shaped by sin; they, as it were, embody the sins which shaped them and conduce to further sins. For example, greedy choices lead to an unjust economic system in which the rich waste goods and pollute the environment, while the poor remain in desperate need. In some nations, certain families hold vast, undeveloped estates, thus shaping an agricultural system which allows many small farmers too little land to grow the food necessary to feed their families. Again, irresponsible choices about sexual activity--perhaps together with ill-conceived public programs of sex education, no-fault divorce, and so on--encourage a family structure in which children are deprived of the support and nurture of their fathers. Although such sociocultural structures of sin originate only in wrong free choices, the sins of individuals and groups, they extend far beyond the deeds and situations which give rise to them." (THE WAY OF THE LORD JESUS; LIVING A CHRISTIAN LIFE; by Germain Grisez; Chapter 4: Repentance, The Sacrament of Penance, and the Struggle Against Sin Question A: How Do Responsibilities in This Sphere Fit into Christian Life? #3. Christians Must Struggle Hard against Sin and Its Effects; e).

    St. Paul, no doubt, knew to reject the world, he calls on us to conform to the will of God, not society, "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2).

    But St. Paul doesn't rely on himself to conform himself to God. This same attitude is seen in all the saints. People we would consider perfect considered themselves sinners. "We should hold our lower nature in contempt, as a source of shame to us, because through our own fault we are wretched and utterly corrupt, nothing more than worms…" (Letter To All The Faithful; St. Francis of Assisi)

    Here is the hope of mercy, the hope of redemption. "that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His Own" (Philippians 3:11-12). Throughout the Scriptures, St. Paul speaks of himself, and us, hoping to be saved, hoping in God's mercy.

    Most of us say we hope in God's mercy. But do we really? Most of us struggle with sin. Either through weakness or other avenues. "Fallen human nature is a handicap in the struggle against sin. Honest people who desire to live uprightly often recognize in themselves a vulnerability to temptation and an inclination to sin arising from the fact that their feelings are not subordinate to reason . The Church's teaching calls this experience "concupiscence" and explains that it is an effect of original sin which persists even in the baptized. Jesus makes it clear that people must take whatever measures are necessary to deal with this source of temptation. St. Paul acknowledges the need to discipline himself much as an athlete in training does ." (THE WAY OF THE LORD JESUS; LIVING A CHRISTIAN LIFE; by Germain Grisez; Chap 4; Question A; #3d)

    We run the spectrum of the person who confesses on Saturday to sin again on Monday to those who can't seem to shake their sin. We rely on God's mercy, not just hope in it. "But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to Heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'" (Luke 18:13). "But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord' " (Luke 5:8).

    We continue to struggle with sin, some succeed, with God's grace, to overcome it, others don't, but they continue to try. "Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified" (1 Corinthinians 9:24-27).

    But there are other approaches to mercy. With the words, "God loves us too much to condemn us to hell." This is actually just another version of the 'once saved, always saved' argument. That God's love is such that He could not but grant all His people mercy, or any and all people. "Remaining interested in God's promises and counting on him to keep them, those who sin by presumption continue to hope and even, to some extent, to shape their lives by hope. But, not consistently putting hope into practice, they abuse it, expecting pardon without repentance and the reward for following Jesus without the cost of discipleship. This unrealistic expectation is the essence of presumption." (THE WAY OF THE LORD JESUS; LIVING A CHRISTIAN LIFE; by Germain Grisez; Chap. 2, Question B; #5b)

    If we listen closely, we may hear a very unchristian trait, pride. "Rejecting God's terms for obtaining what he promises, the presumptuous expect to obtain it on their own. They suppose that God, like a blustery parent, threatens punishments which he will be too softhearted to carry out, and, like a permissive parent, accompanies his gift of freedom with a virtual guarantee to fend off the consequences of its irresponsible use. Such suppositions are inconsistent with faith, which not only depends on God's absolute truthfulness but also, assuring believers that God will do his part, calls them to do theirs, as grace empowers them to do. Since the self- deception essential to presumption cannot withstand critical reflection in light of relevant truths of faith concerning the duty to cooperate with God's grace, this sin implicitly challenges previously sound faith. Absolute self-deception is beyond anyone's reach, and so the presumptuous may become aware of the inconsistency between what faith teaches about everyone's salvation and the subjective belief about their own to which they cling. The tension can be resolved by repenting the sin of presumption, by replacing presumption with despair, or by denying unwelcome truths of faith: that God is not only merciful but just, that unrepentant mortal sinners suffer everlasting loss, that some sins really are mortal, and so forth. In generating temptations to deny such truths, presumption threatens faith." (IBID)

    So we hear that though the Church calls such and such a sin, and calls us to repentance, the presumptuous sinner rejects that call, rejects the truth, for the sake of his sin rather than rejecting the sin. And, as seen, if this sin is more important to him, and it can be made to be acceptable in the world, then the idea comes that they need not change, nor the world, but rather that the Church, and Christ, must change to suit them. "Insofar as humankind is divided and afflicted by such structures of sin, it constitutes the sinful world, friendship with which is enmity toward God (see James 4.4). That world hates Jesus' loyal followers, who must remain in it without belonging to it (see John 15.18-19, 17.6-19). It presses everyone to conform to it, while the all-too-human tendency to conform impedes Christians from following Jesus or even thinking about their personal vocation. That is why Paul warns: 'Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect' (Romans12.2)." (IBID, Chap 4, Q A, #3f)

    Of course the opposite of the sin of presumption is the sin of despair, that is that there is no way that God could forgive and have mercy on us. Consider the cases of Peter and Judas. "'Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.' Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, 'I do not know the man.' And immediately the cock crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, 'Before the cock crows, you will deny Me three times.' And he went out and wept bitterly….. When Judas, his betrayer, saw that he was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, 'I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.' They said, 'What is that to us? See to it yourself.' And throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself" (Matthew 26: 73-75 & 27:3-5).

    Peter, recognizing his sin, goes out and weeps bitterly. He has offended God, has rejected him, but repents. Judas, on the other hand, recognizes his sin in exactly the same way as Peter did, but instead, despairing of God's mercy, goes out and hangs himself.

    So, we have those who keep a tight rein on themselves, working diligently to avoid sin. Not content on patting themselves on the back, they know they need, and hope for, God's mercy for whatever sins they may have committed. We then have people who struggle with sin through various avenues. They know their sin and try, often failing miserably, to avoid it. Their faith keeps them struggling on, even though they fall a thousand times. They rely on God's mercy and love to sustain them in their struggle. "Grace does not make overcoming sin painless and effortless. As the parable of the publican and pharisee makes clear (see Luke 18.9-14), true repentance requires the acknowledgment that forgiveness depends on God's mercy. One would not be repentant in self-confidently supposing that one deserved acceptance in God's eyes. Indeed, it is a matter of faith that God's grace and mercy initiate and sustain whatever one does to overcome sin." (IBID)

    Then we have those who do not struggle with sin, but rather wallow in it, presuming God's mercy. "…it also is a matter of faith that grace does not replace human free choice and effort: 'According to Catholic faith we also believe that after grace has been received through baptism, all the baptized, if they are willing to labor faithfully, can and ought to accomplish with Christ's help and cooperation what pertains to the salvation of their souls" God's mercy is not merely a matter of writing off sins, as a creditor might cancel a debt, rather, God gives the sinner a new heart, which freely responds to his mercy (see Psalm 51.10-12), so that those who were sinners can live as members of Jesus and act as befits God's friends (see Jeremiah 31.31-34, Ezechiel 11.19-20, John 15.4-15)." (IBID)

    But there is one other attitude prevalent in the world today. The notion that, if one considers it a sin, then it is. But if they don't, then it isn't. This is a very useful approach to wean people from Christ and His Church. After all, what need do we have of a merciful God, or the reconciliation offered through His Church, if there is no sin? "Sins are spiritual realities that last. Insofar as they flow from free choices, human actions are not mere units of transitory behavior, which people do and then simply put behind them; rather, actions really constitute a person's life and self. Moral norms, furthermore, are truths, not mere rules, that guide human actions to the authentic fulfillment God plans and wills for creation as a whole and for each created person. Sins, then, are choices contrary to what the sinner believes to be the moral truth. In every sinful choice, one makes oneself guilty, whether one feels guilty or not; and one remains guilty unless and until one has a real change of heart.

    "Sin offends God and causes widespread disharmony. Sins interfere with human fulfillment and disrupt human harmony on every level, as Vatican II teaches: 'Often refusing to acknowledge God as their source, people have disrupted not only their proper relationship to the ultimate end of the human person, but also their whole relationship to themselves, other people, and all created things' (Gaudium et Spes 13). Basically, however, sins explicitly or implicitly violate God's wisdom and love, and so alienate sinners from him. For those who have entered into a covenant with God, sin is unfaithfulness, as adultery is unfaithfulness to a spouse. Thus, although sins cannot harm God, they truly offend him inasmuch as they are against the good He wills. In sinning, one implicitly says to God: May Thy will not be done on earth as it is in Heaven!" (IBID)

    This attitude is just one step away from the notion that a loving God wouldn't condemn anyone to hell. That God's mercy is absolute regardless of what we do. But if we dare call ourselves followers of Christ, if we dare call ourselves Christians, then we must do battle daily. With ourselves and the world around us. "Since by themselves human beings are weaker than their diabolical adversaries, prayer for divine and angelic help is the chief means of carrying on this part of the struggle against sin….. Therefore, the Council of Trent teaches that Christians not only must work out their salvation in fear and trembling, but 'in labors, in sleepless nights, in almsgiving, in prayers and offerings, in fastings, and in chastity' (2 Corinthians 6.3 ff.); they 'should be in dread about the battle they must wage with the flesh, the world, and the devil.'" (IBID)

    Through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, God gives us strength, His strength, to continue this fight. Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, He gives us His mercy when, due to our human nature, we fall. And He also gives us graces to withstand the temptation to fall. We, by our prayers of supplication and contrition, ask aid in this ongoing battle.    

"St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do you, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the power of God, cast into hell,
satan and all his evils spirits,
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls."

July 3-5, 2000
volume 11, no. 116
Pat Ludwa's VIEW FROM THE PEW

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