"Never fear that your past faults and infidelities will prevent
you reaching the degree of union that God intends for you;
in an instant He can repair all that."
- Dom Marmion
“The
saints applied to perfection the
directive of the Holy Spirit, “Let everyone first examine himself and then eat
of that bread and drink of that Chalice; because he who eats and drinks
unworthily, eats and drinks unto his own condemnation” (I Cor
11:28-29).
To
examine themselves, to repent, to accuse themselves in Confession and to ask
pardon of God, and in this way even every day profit from the Sacrament of
Confession, was something natural for the
saints. How fortunate they were to be capable of so much! The
fruits of sanctification were constant and abundant because the purity of soul
with which each saint welcomed into himself Jesus, "the Wheat of the elect."
(Zach 9:17) was like the good ground "... which brings forth fruit in patience"
(Luke 8:15).
St
Anthony Mary Claret illustrates this fact very well: "When we go to Holy
Communion, all of us receive the same Lord Jesus, but not all receive the same
grace nor are the same effects produced in all. This comes from our greater or
lesser disposition. To explain this fact, I will take an example from nature.
Consider the process of grafting. The more similar the one plant is to the
other, the better the graft will succeed. Likewise, the more resemblance there
is between the one that goes to Communion and Jesus, so much the better will the
fruits of Holy Communion be." The Sacrament of Confession is in fact the
excellent means whereby the similarity between the soul and Jesus is
restored.
For
this reason St Francis de Sales taught his spiritual children "Go to Confession
with humility and devotion... "
Fr Stefano Manelli, O.F.M. Conv., S.T.D.
No comments:
Post a Comment