He died a horrendous, excruciatingly painful death on the Cross for our numerous, grievous sins.
Did this sacrifice -- offered to His Father -- end sin and death?
It did not end sin and death in the world. But His sacrifice, did, however, conquer death -- of our souls, and opened up the gates to paradise so we could be happy with Him for all eternity, that is, if we accept the merits He gained for us. Sadly, we know that not all accept those merits, and not all will be saved. There is an Elect, but there are those who will be damned.
The reasons are numerous. Among those reasons, are pride and concupiscence (sins of the flesh), of which many of us are guilty.
It only takes an act of our free will to choose evil over good. That choice can be as "simple" as rejecting God, in favor of creature comforts, thereby making creatures our gods.
But the fact remains that as long as someone is still breathing, there is always hope of being saved by the limitless grace of our good God.
He wishes all men to be saved -- and come to the knowledge of the truth (St. Paul, I Timothy 2;4).
As an aside, the last part of that verse is often forgotten because it's the tough part of the verse that many refuse to accept...
How does this apply to us today, especially in light of the ongoing crises of the COVID-19 virus and the economic disaster that has crippled our nation and thrown so many Americans out of work?
As sin equals slavery and separates us from God, the loss of our human freedoms also equals slavery -- and can also separate us from God, many times by despairing of the virtue of hope...
We see the secularists forbidding us from going to church; from gathering with our families; from being able to attend at the death-bed of relatives or friends; from speaking out against tyranny, including overreaching government and medical authorities.
But it is not limited to those in the federal government -- it extends to Catholic bishops unwilling to stand up to the draconian dictates of state governors and mayors. Are our shepherds willing to fight to the death, if necessary, to deliver us from the ravenous wolves pretending to be gentle sheep? Are we willing to fight for what we believe in, regardless of the cost to our earthly lives. We are told in the Bible that the rewards will be great in Heaven if we persevere to the end, and finish the race.
If we claim to love our Lord, Jesus Christ, we must take a stand, whether against the secular and/or the ecclesiastical authorities, to resist to the face, those that have taken away our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, denying us the Bread of Life -- His body and blood, soul and divinity.
Is watching church services or Mass on TV and the Internet okay with you? It shouldn't be. It's not with me...
In previous pandemics, our churches were not closed for the duration, instead, brave priests ministered to those in need, especially those on the verge of entering eternity. Today is a different story...
Why?
It is not only obvious that objective sin pounds those horrid, iron nails back into His hands, but also our spiritual sloth. Christ tells us in the Bible that if we are lukewarm in our beliefs and attitudes toward Him, He will vomit us out of His mouth...
We are crucifying Christ, our Lord, by killing His precious gift of life to us through the heinous act of abortion -- one of the dastardly sins that cries to Heaven for vengeance. We euthanize our elderly because they can no longer keep a checkbook in balance; we say that two men and/or two women can marry; we render to Caesar much more than is due to Caesar, and forget to render to almighty God the things that He demands: worship and honor, so, in essence, we get what we deserve...
Our country is in dire straits, and no amount of "stimulus money" will get us out, only a complete return to God by loving Him and our neighbor...
Pray earnestly for our country...
Viva Cristo Rey! Fr. Miguel Pro, pray for us...
Gene DeLalla
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