“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)
These words from the prophet Isaiah beautifully capture God's infinite capacity for forgiveness and renewal. No matter how far we have strayed or how grievously we have sinned, God always awaits our repentance with open arms.
Yet what does true repentance entail? And why is the Sacrament of Reconciliation so vital to restoring our relationship with God?
In St. Luke Gospel chapter 5, we read the powerful story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man, moved by the friends who lowered him through a rooftop to reach the Lord’s presence. This miraculous physical healing uniquely foreshadowed an even greater miracle – the divine forgiveness of sins. As Christ tenderly tells this desperate sufferer: “Friend, your sins are forgiven” (Luke 5:20). Scandalized religious leaders grumble in response, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:21). Little do they realize Jesus is doing precisely that, unveiling his true identity as “the Son of Man [who] has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Luke 5:24). After healing the man’s paralysis to visibly manifest this authority, Jesus commissions him, “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home” (Luke 5:24). This singular event plants early seeds in the disciples’ minds regarding Christ’s divine prerogative to reconcile humanity back to the Father. As we reflect on God's justice transfigured by mercy, may the paraplegic's experience of unburdening inspire our own trust and repentance.
In his commentary on the Gospel of St Luke chapter 5, Don Dolindo Ruotolo describes sin as an abandonment of God – “a detachment from God and a turning towards creatures.” When we sin, we effectively turn away from the source of life and love, preferring fleeting created things over our Eternal Creator. As Don Dolindo writes: “Freely and of her own will, [the soul] distances herself from God, remaining deprived of His help and His grace, abandoned to herself, and serving Satan.”
In succumbing to sinful temptations, we cut ourselves off from divine aid and leave ourselves weak and vulnerable. Over time, this creates a debilitating spiritual blindness – we lose sight of eternal realities, truth, and goodness. We may find ourselves stumbling further into patterns of dysfunction and despair, a tragic fate for a soul made for union with God.
Yet no matter how far we wander, God patiently waits for our return, longing to welcome us home. As Jesus proclaims, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7)
What does this return journey of repentance require? Don Dolindo emphasizes two key aspects:
Firstly, it involves properly valuing sin, seeing it for the great evil and deception that it is. When ensnared by sin, we temporarily perceive the creature or base experiences as more precious than God. Real repentance utterly destroys this illusion.
Secondly, authentic repentance rekindles one’s love for God, reminding us of His surpassing worth. It fills us with grief over offending such unfathomable goodness, while inflaming heartfelt longing for restored communion. As St. Augustine cried out, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.”
When we turn back to God with sincere contrition, what awaits us? A love that never ceases awaits us! The Catechism proclaims that “there is no limit or measure to this essentially divine forgiveness”(CCC 2845). As we see vividly in Christ’s Parable of the Prodigal Son, God the Father tenderly embraces every wayward child who repents, clothing us in fine robes and celebrating extravagantly over our return.
In Don Dolindo’s striking imagery, God’s forgiveness does far more than simply pardon past sins – it utterly transforms us from within, making us new creations. He writes:
“Repentance destroys in [the soul] the false appreciation of the object of sin...It restores to her the appreciation of the Lord, and therefore the desire for His love. It strengthens her and grants her His grace. The faculties, which were once like dead, weakened by the lack of supernatural life, are reactivated with the current of grace that reanimates them.”
We do not just walk away absolved from our wrongdoing; instead, grace radically heals and liberates our wounded nature. Breaking sin’s grip, God’s love washes over us like a cleansing flood, breathing new life into places once shackled by darkness.
In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, this divine forgiveness takes on a profoundly personal dimension. As Catholics, we believe that by confessing our sins before the priest, we are in fact confessing directly to Christ Himself. The priest represents God, both judge and healer, who gazes on us with awe-inspiring mercy.
Many moderns view Confession as archaic, punitive, even traumatizing. Yet as Don Dolindo writes with striking insight:
“Just considering these characteristics of the remission of sins, and therefore of the Sacrament of Penance which is the tribunal of forgiveness, is enough to make us understand the divine origin of Confession, and to dispel all the fables of error.”
What makes this mercy so unique? Don Dolindo beautifully captures a powerful paradox - that God's justice actually elevates our freedom and dignity. He writes:
"[God’s justice] is the harmonious fusion of justice and mercy, which has the admirable secret not of demeaning, but of elevating human dignity and human freedom."
Unlike flawed human justice, often fixated on punishment and shame, God’s justice aims supremely to restore, renew, and reconcile. Confession provides this loving remedy, lifting intolerable burdens of guilt while fortifying us to resist future temptation. In our age of isolation, anxiety and inner turmoil, perhaps we moderns need the Sacrament more than ever.
Certainly, the journey back to God seldom occurs suddenly. Even following absolution, Don Dolindo emphasizes the need for purification and healing to fully revive our weakened souls. Through patient humility, we persist in cultivating virtues, engaging in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. By God's grace, these practices aid in restoring sanctifying grace, the marvelous life of the Spirit residing within us.
Yet we walk this road to renewal not alone, but supported by the entire Church Triumphant and Suffering. As Hebrews 12:1 exhorts: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us...”
As we conclude this shared reflection on repentance and Christ's divine mercy, seen so vividly in the healed paralytic, we fittingly turn to Don Dolindo's poignant words capturing the remarkable gift of forgiveness which frees and revives each burdened soul:
“If men truly understood the value of confession, they would flock to the House of God, seeking mercy. If all souls grasped the unhappiness of those living in estrangement from the Lord, they would revive the compassionate work of those who carried the paralyzed, pushing and guiding poor sinners towards Penitence. These souls are inert, unable to move, in need of assistance and a gentle nudge. We, in our charitable nature, must lend ourselves to this holy apostolate. If we wait for sinners to make the first move towards the Priest, we wait in vain, for they are paralyzed in all their faculties. They must be propelled and almost carried with the persistent care of zeal. And if they resist even our zeal, we must bring them to the feet of Jesus through our unwavering prayers, beseeching His mercy to have compassion on them. If the sick move us to compassion, how much more should the poor sinners, the most miserable of all, move us?”
In this sacred time, may we all seek a closer connection with God and a stronger commitment to His calling. By embracing the freeing journey of repentance, transitioning from death to a resurrected life, we hope to one day rejoice in the presence of the Lord. Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus!
Holy Mary, as you stood courageously at the foot of the Cross (John 19:25), you witnessed firsthand this profound mystery of divine justice transfigured by love. We implore your intercession, that we may receive the grace to possess a heart humbled and contrite (Psalm 51:17), enabling us to truly repent and place our complete trust in the sacrificial offering of your Son. May we open our hearts widely to receive Our Father’s tender embrace (Luke 15:20), and live always as beloved children (1 John 3:1), restored to grace and friendship with Him. Through your maternal intercession and prayers (James 5:16), may we persevere in hope along the journey back to the welcoming arms of our merciful Father (Psalm 103:8). Amen.