A Matter of Faith

Mt 13:1-9

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

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After going to Confession and once again relishing God in the Eucharist, I suddenly heard this in my mind: "Worthiness is not a feeling, it is a matter of faith."

All of us are sinners, and sometimes it takes quite a stretch of imagination to think how God would forgive us. Imagine how He has given all the wonderful things of this world, including that magical thing called free will. Imagine how He has blessed us, by first of all creating us, and allowing us to breath and live. The mere fact that I am alive makes me wonder about and thank God at the same time for the life He has given me.

But despite that, I am still a sinner. I have done things that I believe merit punishment and not forgiveness, of separation from God and not communion with God. My post yesterday echoes my yearning to see God if He wills it. But my own capabilities are overwhelmingly insufficient. "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!"

"A matter of faith." This is why I love my Catholic faith, which teaches me such a powerful way how God has transformed human weakness into strength, and enabled His people to attain His forgiveness and really have a tangible way of receiving it.

Human weakness, as shown in our tendency to die and succumb to hardship, was defeated by the power of God, through His Son's resurrection! I consider this such a potent expression of how the grace of God can help us defeat our human weaknesses and lead us closer to Him.

And, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are drawn closer to Him through that power that Christ gave His apostles: the power to forgive sin. Yes, some Evangelical perspectives argue that we can confess directly to God. But, somehow, something's missing: a verbal assurance that we are indeed forgiven by God. This is why I really love the Catholic Faith: the authority of the priesthood that Jesus has given His apostles has given them the power to forgive sin. "What you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, what you loose shall be loosened in heaven."

What's a great part of it as well is the fact that they give a verbal assurance of forgiveness! I believe that if one were to gather all the most powerful words a person can ever say, it is this:

"...through the ministry of the Church
may God give you pardon and peace
I absolve you from all your sins..."

I pray that with the Sacrament of Penance and the holy Eucharist, step by step, all of us may attain that grace of becoming pure in the eyes of God and seeing Him face to face. And as we relate this post with today's Gospel, may these Sacraments make us fertile ground for the seeds of a stronger faith in Jesus Christ.

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Saint John Nepomucene, patron of the confessional, pray for us.

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photo credits: http://fertilizerinfo.com/images/mp-005/fertilizer.jpg, http://thriceholy.net/JPGs/sower.jpg