June 1, 2025 – The Seventh Sunday of Easter [C]
Fr. Thomas Hoisington
Acts 7:55-60 + Revelation 22:12-14,16-17,20 + John 17:20-26
“And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one ….”
We ought to cry out for the Holy Spirit to come into our lives each day. There are many reasons for us to do so.
One of these reasons has to do with our sinful human nature. Our sins pierce our souls as they pierced the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and so our souls can become like sieves, unable to contain the grace of the Holy Spirit’s Presence and His seven gifts. Our Christian life poses to us the struggle of allowing our souls to be re-created throughout our earthly lives. This is the grace of being reconciled with God that we receive in the Sacrament of Penance. This is what being “born again” means for us as Catholics: first of all, being washed clean of all our sins in Baptism, and from there on out being renewed in our relationship with God through the Sacrament of Confession.
There are some who claim that believing in a Sacrament such as Reconciliation somehow cheapens the meaning of our Christian faith. They argue that being able to go to Confession over and over again encourages people to sin. Of course, this makes about as much sense as saying that being able to take a shower every day encourages people to get dirty and stink.
How can we understand the argument of those who describe the Sacrament of Confession as an easy way out of sinning? After all, what are the alternatives? If God didn’t truly establish the Sacrament of Reconciliation, there are only three basic alternatives: first, that there’s no such thing as sin; second, that there is sin, but that as long as we have at some point accepted Christ as our personal Savior, our sins don’t matter because we are already saved; or thirdly, that there is sin, and when a Christian sins he or she needs to turn to God for forgiveness, but that nonetheless this forgiveness can be obtained simply by praying to God. When you put these three alternatives up against the Catholic’s need to confess mortal sins through the Sacrament of Confession, it hardly seems to make sense to say that Catholic have an easy way out. On the contrary, it would be much easier for us as Catholics to believe in one of these three alternatives.
Furthermore, we can also look at our relationship with God from a personal perspective, and see again the meaning and value of the Sacrament of Reconciliation with God. If you were to consider the most intimate relationships that you have in your life—whether with a spouse, parents, children, or friends—you could ask yourself in what manner you seek to be reconciled with those persons when you have offended them in a serious way.
We might consider several alternatives. First, we could pretend that we had never harmed the other, that we have no need to ask forgiveness. At times perhaps we do act this way, but we know it’s not honest.
Second, we could admit that we had harmed the other, but then claim that as long as we had professed our love for the other at some point in the past, that they will automatically forgive us without our asking. At times perhaps we do act this way, but we know that it’s presumptuous.
Third, we could admit that we had harmed the other, and know that we need to ask for forgiveness, but then seek this forgiveness in roundabout ways: for example, through flowers, a card, or some act of kindness for the other. These are all good things, and can lead up to forgiveness, but until a person breaks down, gets on his knees, and opens his mouth and says out loud, “O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you,” they cannot, even from a merely human point of view, receive the full joy of being forgiven and being able to go on to have an even stronger relationship with God.
If we seek the Presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and accept the full measure of His gifts, Jesus’ Spirit becomes our spirit. His breath becomes our breath. And so, in turn, we will offer our lives as Saint Stephen did. We will offer our own spirit to God, and in the same breath, pray for others, even those who have trespassed against us. This emptying of ourselves for God and others is our calling as Christians.