18th Day of Lent: March 22, 2014: “You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins” (Micah 7:19)

    18^th  Day of  Lent:

              March 22,  2014:

  “You will cast into the

           depths of the sea 
                              all our sins"                                                     (Micah 7:19)

A man once came up to me and said, “ Father I am so afraid to go to hell”. This attitude brings out a feeling of bad guilt. Yap there is something like bad guilt. It is such that you believe “you are done”, “God can never forgive me”, “I always do the wrong thing” and it is that sense of guilt that killed Judas after betraying Jesus. On the other hand you can also have a feeling of good guilt that will lead you to trust in God’s mercy, compassion and forgiveness.

Here you place God’s mercy and compassion above your own mountain of sins. For after all God, “You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins”(Micah 7:19), after all God the Father, “when he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming, he ran toward him, hugged him, and welcomed him home” (Luke 15: 11-24).

Pope Francis tells us “God never gets tired of forgiving us; we get tired of going to God”. St. Isidore of Seville said, “Do not doubt, do not hesitate, never despair of the mercy of God”. So it is very consoling to have a good guilt feeling after we have found ourselves all messed up, knocked down, beaten up, broken and wounded because of our sins.

We leave home for a life of “partying” thinking that party is going to last for ever but unfortunately the night gives way to dawn sooner than we think. We end in ‘pig’s pen feeling miserable, filthy and unworthy. Sometimes it is good to be in the pig’s pen so that we will get level headed to head home to our true home where a party waits for us.

The younger son had a good guilt and turned around trusting in God the Father’s mercy, clemency and compassion.
The older son had a bad guilt, “I have been slaving for you, you never give me any party, I am never good enough for you”. Who would you be today, the younger or older son? Remember Micah’s words, “Lord you will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins” and “there is no place like home”!

 God Bless you always!
Sincerely Yours,
Rev. Fr. Cyriac Chandy Mattathilanickal, MS

Wishing you and yours A Holy Lent!

Rev. Fr. Tom Puthusseril, M.S.

Shrine Director

POPE FRANCIS AND THAT OLDER BROTHER

What is the point of saving only the already saved? Pope Francis has recently asked this and some other very hard questions. He seems determined that we are not to be a self-referential Church, a Church that sees membership not as food for the journey, but as the reward for arriving. The news media was all abuzz again recently over comments by Pope Francis about the face of Catholicism presented to a world on the sidelines of redemption.

Two weeks ago, Pope Francis spoke over 12,000 words reduced to less than 50 in the news media. What Pope Francis said comes down to this: The Catholic Church and the faith we present to the world must not be reduced to a litany of what we oppose – or are supposed to oppose. In the New Evangelization with which this Pope is tasked, the Church must stand as a moral compass and guide, and not a moral hammer. His task is to challenge his spiritual sons and daughters who are alienated from faith, but his more daunting challenge is to the rest of us.