[attach id=526071 size="medium"]We are rightly told that God loves us, irrespective of our status and situation. Yet this is falsely interpreted as acceptance of the status quo. The wrong implication seems to be that we should just muddle through life without too much awareness of our failures and sinfulness as, thanks to God’s mercy, all will be well.[/attach]
Tomorrow marks the feast of Santa Maria, which is a celebration of great religious significance in Malta for various reasons. Not least because it is fêted by a number of parishes in Malta and Gozo. It also has historical importance at it marks the legendary convoy whose arrival in 1942, despite frightful loss of life and ships, marked the lifting of the siege of Malta which was on the brink of starvation during World War II.
Such celebrations commemorate and confirm Malta’s Christian identity and all the more so in the Year of Mercy. The concept of mercy, of forgiveness, is central to the spirit of our faith passed on to us from the dawn of Christianity. This is the Good News that refreshes us with the message of redemption and the yearning to strive to be a Christ centred people in all its dimensions.
As St John Paul II puts it: “From the very first proclamation of Jesus, Christians realise that there is a disproportion between the moral law and human capacity. They equally understand that the recognition of their own weakness is the necessary and secure method by which the door of God’s mercy may be opened.”
I am sure that Pope Francis, by emphasising the concept of mercy, places his trust in the providential opportunity of such reflection in enabling us to seek conversion by recognising our sinfulness and need for redemption.
Unfortunately, media spin is distorting this powerful message. We are rightly being told that God loves us, irrespective of our status and situation. Yet this is falsely being interpreted as an acceptance of the status quo. The wrong implication seems to be that after all, we should just muddle through life without too much awareness of our failures and sinfulness as, thanks to God’s mercy, all will be well.
We live in an age of moral decadence where the meaning of right and wrong has been blurred
This is a misrepresentation and falsification of the meaning of God’s mercy. The concept of sin has been watered down to the extent that many of us feel quite self-satisfied.
As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once pointed out, we now have a situation in which the word ‘conscience’ is invoked only in a negative sense, as the justification for my decision not only to ignore a moral norm, but also to have no need to feel any sense of shame or failure for ignoring it – the logical outcome of such a reductionist view is moral anarchy.
We live in an age of moral decadence where the meaning of right and wrong has been blurred. Such developments have led to the social degradation that thinks nothing of promiscuity, widespread pornography, marital breakdown, abortion and euthanasia.
And these are not the only failings. Awareness of the seven deadly sins should shed light on the gratuitous violence of terrorism, the blind greed that gives rise to the degradation of the environment, exploitation and neglect of the weaker sectors of society, and so on.
Needless to say, the Year of Mercy is a call for personal discernment. It is much easier to see the faults of others. It is so much more difficult to see and acknowledge one’s own and embark on the arduous task of renewal.
But here lies the core of our faith. We are not only asked to be aware of our sinfulness and to be merciful to others. In a culture of misplaced tolerance where it is comfortable to condone everyone and everything as long as we are allowed to pursue our selfish lifestyle unchallenged, we must not forget Christ’s injunction.
When challenging the men who were so ready and eager to stone the adulteress, all of us remember Christ’s words: “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”
As G. K. Chesterton pointed out in an essay of 1933: “To judge by many modern references, one would suppose that the whole scene ended with the words: ‘Go on and sin as much as you like’.”
But Christ had said: “Go and sin no more.” This is the key to repentance and redemption.
One hopes that in the festive euphoria of tomorrow’s great religious feast, we will take this admonishment to heart.
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