Saint
Francis of Assisi
556 South Jersey Street; Denver, CO 80224
National Catholic Church (PNCC)
St. Francis of Assisi Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) @2008
Thoughts for Lent from Father John
As we begin the liturgical season of Lent, we ponder why it was necessary for Christ to suffer and die. We know it says in the Book of Genesis, God created man, "male and female he created them". He gave man powers superior to all the other earthly creatures, and all he expected of him in return was obedience and reverence. Man, because of his pride in the gift given him, refused that obedience with disastrous results that would have ever¬lasting effects on himself and his descendants, had not the mercy of God intervened.
In recent years theologians have been discussing and arguing about the nature of what is called "Original sin," and how it’s transmitted from generation to generation. The undeniable fact is that sin abounds, and has abounded in our world from the earliest days of man on earth. The reason why the Church recalls to our minds the basic facts that God, out of sheer goodness, created man and gave him marvelous gifts, and man in his meanness and foolish pride refused obedience and loyalty to his divine benefactor, is simply to remind us that we’re all sinners and descendants of sinners. While theologians may, and should, try to discover the real nature of original sin and its mode of transmission, the fact that we today, centuries and millennia later, are still sinners, still proud, still so often disloyal and ungrateful to God, who made us what we are, is and should be our chief preoccupation during this season of Lent.
While we’ve every reason to regret that our first parents acted so foolishly and so ungratefully,
the fact that we ourselves, with far more knowledge of God's goodness can and do act even more foolishly and more ungratefully every time we disobey God, should be a greater cause for shame and regret to each one of us. We know that God sent his Son on earth in human nature, in order to earn for us a share in God's own divine happiness. And God did this, even though the human race had proved itself so unworthy of this divine favor. His divine Son had to suffer, not only the humiliation of taking on himself our human nature, but he had to suffer insults and injuries in that human nature, which reached their climax in his crucifixion on Calvary.
That God would desire to share his heaven with the saintly and the good who had never offended him, even though they were mere creatures, would be an act of divine love indeed, but that he should want to grant eternal happiness to sinners, at the cost of the torments and sufferings of his beloved Son, is surely a mystery of love beyond our human comprehension. Yet, this is one of the basic truths of our Christian faith. What sinner, and we’re all sinners, could dare to hope that God would forgive his sins; what right could he have, after his own mean behavior toward the God who gave him everything he has, what right could he have to expect any pardon? But one sincere look at a crucifix should be enough to dispel any thought of despair or despondency.
Christ took on himself the sins of the world. He nailed them to the cross, in order to open the door to heaven for all men. Through his Incarnation he raised us up to the status of adopted sons and daughters of God; through his sufferings and crucifixion he made atonement to his Father for the sins of all us, and in doing so, removed the impediment that could prevent us from reaching the reward of membership in the eternal kingdom of God. But even God cannot remove our sins unless we do our part; Christ's sufferings and death for us will have been in vain, unless we cooperate. Lent is an opportunity for us to actively cooperate. It’s a period of penance and repentance. For the many disobedience’s and disloyalties we’ve shown to God up to now, Lent provides us an opportunity to try to make some personal atonement for them. We have an opportunity to do this by some special acts of mortification and devotion during this holy season. Make a commitment to not only “give something upâ€
In recent years theologians have been discussing and arguing about the nature of what is called "Original sin," and how it’s transmitted from generation to generation. The undeniable fact is that sin abounds, and has abounded in our world from the earliest days of man on earth. The reason why the Church recalls to our minds the basic facts that God, out of sheer goodness, created man and gave him marvelous gifts, and man in his meanness and foolish pride refused obedience and loyalty to his divine benefactor, is simply to remind us that we’re all sinners and descendants of sinners. While theologians may, and should, try to discover the real nature of original sin and its mode of transmission, the fact that we today, centuries and millennia later, are still sinners, still proud, still so often disloyal and ungrateful to God, who made us what we are, is and should be our chief preoccupation during this season of Lent.
While we’ve every reason to regret that our first parents acted so foolishly and so ungratefully,
the fact that we ourselves, with far more knowledge of God's goodness can and do act even more foolishly and more ungratefully every time we disobey God, should be a greater cause for shame and regret to each one of us. We know that God sent his Son on earth in human nature, in order to earn for us a share in God's own divine happiness. And God did this, even though the human race had proved itself so unworthy of this divine favor. His divine Son had to suffer, not only the humiliation of taking on himself our human nature, but he had to suffer insults and injuries in that human nature, which reached their climax in his crucifixion on Calvary.
That God would desire to share his heaven with the saintly and the good who had never offended him, even though they were mere creatures, would be an act of divine love indeed, but that he should want to grant eternal happiness to sinners, at the cost of the torments and sufferings of his beloved Son, is surely a mystery of love beyond our human comprehension. Yet, this is one of the basic truths of our Christian faith. What sinner, and we’re all sinners, could dare to hope that God would forgive his sins; what right could he have, after his own mean behavior toward the God who gave him everything he has, what right could he have to expect any pardon? But one sincere look at a crucifix should be enough to dispel any thought of despair or despondency.
Christ took on himself the sins of the world. He nailed them to the cross, in order to open the door to heaven for all men. Through his Incarnation he raised us up to the status of adopted sons and daughters of God; through his sufferings and crucifixion he made atonement to his Father for the sins of all us, and in doing so, removed the impediment that could prevent us from reaching the reward of membership in the eternal kingdom of God. But even God cannot remove our sins unless we do our part; Christ's sufferings and death for us will have been in vain, unless we cooperate. Lent is an opportunity for us to actively cooperate. It’s a period of penance and repentance. For the many disobedience’s and disloyalties we’ve shown to God up to now, Lent provides us an opportunity to try to make some personal atonement for them. We have an opportunity to do this by some special acts of mortification and devotion during this holy season. Make a commitment to not only “give something upâ€