In today's first reading, we learn that our Lord does not wish the death of the sinner,
but that he repent.
And so, we are also reminded that in this life, we really have only two things in the end.
Death and the headstone that marks where the body that was once united to our soul lies in the grave.
And so, our Lord in today's gospel calls us to true repentance.
He calls us to exercise charity on a supernatural level,
on a level that is often impossible for human beings to do,
to forgive, as it were, their brothers,
when they have offended them.
And so, we see very clearly that to exercise this virtue,
we are dependent upon Christ in his grace.
And so, he calls us to truly be virtuous.
Indeed, he says it quite frankly,
that unless our righteousness surpasses the scribes and the Pharisees,
we will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
And so, in this day and age of self-help and self-help programs,
it is often good for us to reflect
that it is not a 12-step program nor a 20-step program
that can deliver us from our sins,
but it is the mercy of God.
It is not a $100,000 check or a $1,000,000 check
that can buy the latest medical advancements
in order to put off the ravages on our flesh,
especially if we have lived a sinful life.
It is something much more precious and much more valuable.
And yet, its cost to the human person
is nothing but a price.
Nothing in one sense and everything in the other sense,
for its cost is purchased merely by the virtue of humility.
When we admit ourselves to be sinners
and that no matter how those sins have affected us,
we cannot overcome them
unless we turn to the grace of Jesus Christ
and his help and his aid.
And so, we must always reflect
that it is not man who makes truth great,
but it is truth who makes man great,
because truth is the incarnate word of God, Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Savior.
Come to us in the flesh.
Come to us as a man to show us how to live a manly life,
but more importantly, to give us the grace
in order that we may be elevated from our sinful selves
into the very life of the Son of God himself,
living truly, truly authentic human lives.
And so, let us always remember
that our Lord and his most holy mother
are the models and examples that we must always
and everywhere constantly strive for,
for they and they alone show us
the way of true human living, of true human life,
and how the human heart, especially in the mother of God,
can be elevated to such heights
that it is almost impossible for us to believe.
And yet, while things are always and everywhere impossible for us,
nothing is impossible with God.
And so, let us always not depend on the self-help programs
of our modern day and age,
not to depend on the programs in the 12 steps
or the 12 steps that we are supposed to follow,
but to depend on the programs in the 12 steps
and the 12 steps that we are supposed to follow,
20 steps or the 40 steps, but let us always remember to rely on that program that is most
effective, the bending of our knee in humility, admitting ourselves to be sinners and helpless
to overcome our sinful inclinations and the effects, the sins we have committed when they
wear very much on the flesh. But let us always remember that Jesus Christ can deliver us. And
if in the end, the only thing we possess is our death and the headstone that marks where our body
is buried, if we have persevered in virtue, if we have been dependent upon Jesus Christ,
then our soul is in heaven. And in the end, that body that is buried now in the dirt will be
reunited in a glorious fashion to praise its good God together with all the angels and the saints
for all eternity.
Thank you for watching!