The Jewish exiles express profound contrition in our first reading: “we today are flushed with shame… [we] have sinned in the Lord’s sight and disobeyed him…each one of us went off after the devices of his own wicked heart, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God” (Baruch 1:15, 17–18, 22). The Bible is full of displays of repentance like this. Jesus speaks to them in today’s Gospel: “they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes” (Luke 10:13).
Our repentance is not like this. Into the Middle Ages, Christians guilty of especially wicked sins would repent by going to Confession and performing public penance, which usually involved them refraining from receiving the Eucharist for long periods of time. Some of them would wear penitential clothing, like sackcloth. Today, our penances after Confession are rarely more than praying a full Rosary.
This is not to say that we need harsher penances from the priest in the confessional. Many saints, like the Jewish exiles and the early Christians, took repentance into their own hands. Rather than wait for someone else to prescribe them a way to atone for their sins, they confessed them and practiced their own penance. Some saints, like Francis of Assisi, were extreme in their repentance, flogging themselves and fasting for months on end. Others, like Thérèse of Lisieux, allowed themselves to be placed in annoying and uncomfortable situations and did small things with great love, offering it all to God.
Regardless of the method by which they carried out their repentance, these saints shared an understanding that they could not do enough to atone for their sins. They understood that those who had not fully atoned for their sins in this life would complete their atonement in Purgatory. Rather than opting to undergo that excruciating purification, the saints chose to endure more hardship than usual here on earth. Happily accepting difficult situations and self-imposed trials for the sake of their salvation and that of others’, they expressed deep sorrow for all offenses against God.
We ought to imitate their zeal for the Lord, if only out of a desire to avoid the pain of Purgatory at first. But ultimately, we should reach a point where we have sorrow for our sin simply because it offends God and is contrary to His ways. Let us pray for the intercession of saints such as Francis of Assisi and Thérèse of Lisieux, that we may imitate their desire to atone for sins – our own, and those of others.
Los judíos exiliados expresan profunda contrición en la primera lectura de hoy: “nos sentimos hoy llenos de vergüenza, porque hemos pecado contra el Señor y no le hemos hecho caso; lo hemos desobedecido… No hemos escuchado la voz del Señor… siguiendo las inclinaciones de nuestro perverso corazón, hemos adorado a dioses extraños y hemos hecho lo que el Señor, nuestro Dios, reprueba” (Baruc 1). La Biblia está llena de muestras de arrepentimiento como esta. Jesús les habla en el Evangelio de hoy: “hace mucho tiempo que hubieran hecho penitencia, cubiertas de sayal y de ceniza” (Lucas 10,13).
Nuestro arrepentimiento no es así. Hasta la Edad Media, los cristianos culpables de pecados especialmente perversos se arrepentían confesándose y haciendo penitencia pública, lo que generalmente implicaba abstenerse de recibir la Eucaristía durante largos periodos. Algunos se vestían de ropas de penitencia, como el cilicio. Hoy en día, nuestras penitencias después de la Confesión rara vez van más allá de rezar un Rosario completo.
Esto no significa que necesitemos penitencias más severas por parte del sacerdote en el confesionario. Muchos santos, como los judíos exiliados y los primeros cristianos, tomaron el arrepentimiento en sus propias manos. En lugar de esperar a que alguien les indicara una manera de expiar sus pecados, los confesaron y practicaron su propia penitencia. Algunos santos, como Francisco de Asís, fueron extremos en su arrepentimiento, azotándose y ayunando durante meses. Otros, como Teresa de Lisieux, se dejaron poner en situaciones molestas e incómodas e hicieron pequeñas cosas con gran amor, ofreciendo todo a Dios.
Independientemente del método que usaron para llevar a cabo su arrepentimiento, estos santos compartían la comprensión de que no podían hacer lo suficiente para expiar sus pecados. Entendían que quienes no habían expiado completamente sus pecados en esta vida completarían su expiación en el Purgatorio. En lugar de optar por esa dolorosa purificación, los santos optaron por soportar más dificultades de lo habitual aquí en la tierra. Aceptando con alegría las situaciones difíciles y las pruebas que se impusieron por su salvación y la de los demás, expresaron un profundo dolor por todas las ofensas contra Dios.
Debemos imitar su celo por el Señor, aunque inicialmente sólo sea por el deseo de evitar el dolor del Purgatorio. Pero, al final, debemos llegar a un punto en que sintamos pesar por nuestro pecado simplemente porque ofende a Dios y es contrario a sus caminos. Oremos por la intercesión de santos como Francisco de Asís y Teresa de Lisieux, para que podamos imitar su deseo de expiar los pecados, tanto los nuestros como los de los demás.
David Dashiell is a freelance author and editor in the Nashville, Tennessee area. He has three children, a degree in theology, and enjoys writing about philosophy, theology, culture, music, and comedy. You can find his personal blog, Serious Daydreams, on Substack. He is also the editor of the anthology Ever Ancient, Ever New: Why Younger Generations Are Embracing Traditional Catholicism, available through TAN Books.
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Former NPS Park Ranger, Catholic educator, and Youth Minister, Melissa Lucca now spends her days evangelizing family and neighbors as a stay-at-home mom. She holds an MA in Theology from the Augustine Institute and pursues personal study in her spare time. Melissa loves Ignatian Spirituality, Mother Mary, and rock climbing. If you don’t hear her and her kiddo laughing at home, then they are probably out on an adventure!
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