2020 04 07 Reflection 826 (Bro. Jason John OP John 13: 21-33, 36-38) скачать в хорошем качестве

2020 04 07 Reflection 826 (Bro. Jason John OP John 13: 21-33, 36-38)

Like us on facebook at   / dominicanministriesgoa   write to us: dominicanministriesgoa@gmail.com Website: www.dominicans.in Judas and Repentance My dear brothers and sisters Gospel readings of the first 3 days holy week have Judas, in a very prominent role. Is Judas really the horrible betrayer that he is often portrayed to be? Well I don’t think so. Much like Judas, other disciples also deserted Jesus and left him to his fate at his capture. Peter who proclaimed Jesus to be Christ denied him thrice, the young man who followed Jesus left his clothes and ran naked when confronted, the disciples. We who receive Jesus in the holy Eucharist goes out and commits many a mortal sin just like Judas who went into darkness after last supper. To err is human and Judas was just another erring human being like you and me. So if Judas is not guilty of betrayal then what is his sin? His crime was that of taking matters into his own hands; he refused to wait for God. St. John in 1 Jn. 3:20 asks us to have trust in God even when our hearts condemn us for God is greater. Judas distrusted the goodness of Jesus who admitted the betrayer to His Body and Blood, who accepted the kiss of peace which condemned Jesus to his captors. Thinking that his malice is greater than Divine Goodness, Judas despaired and thus committed the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit. St Thomas Aquinas teaches that the justice of God is His mercy while Psalm 27:13 says I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Despite all this Judas lost faith in God, all hope in life and cut himself off from divine love. My dear brothers and sisters we might be grave sinners, people far far away from God, we might have committed horrible sins, yet there is no cause for us to despair. All we need to do 3 things 1. Washing ourselves clean through the sacraments, 2.deciding to live a good life and 3. atoning for the past sins with charitable actions. Holy week is the best time to do this; to reconcile with God and fellow beings. You may be an adulterer or an aborter; a liar or a cheat but the Lord will not reject you. Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they may become white as wool. promises Lord in Is 1:17-18. St. John 1:9 says if we confess our sins he who is righteous will forgive us our sins and cleanse us. Now is the appropriate time to take a step toward the Lord and confess your sins; let us not be like Judas who shut himself from the Lord. Let us hope in the mercy of God and step into the confessional today itself.