24.04.25 Luka-Nya Menyembuhkan

Easter Thursday "Lk 24:35-48" As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, "Peace to you"...And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet...Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." First He showed His Wounds; through those Wounds our sins can be forgiven. But those Wounds can't heal the wounds of your sins if there is no repentance; that is why "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations." You and I have that mission now: to remind everyone, no matter what sins they have committed, that through His Sacrifice, through those Wounds, Jesus can forgive any sin in Confession; to remind people that there is no sin, no misery that can't be wiped away by His infinite Mercy. In Confession the Wounds of Jesus erase forever the sins that we confess with contrition. But there has to be real contrition, real sorrow for our sins. A boy went to confess: "Father, forgive me for I have stolen £7 to buy chocolates... but for the penance let's say £10." "So, which one is it?" asked the priest, puzzled, "did you take £7 or £10?" "It was £7, father," answered the boy, "but it wasn't enough; I need £3 more!" Obviously he wasn't very sorry for his sin. Remember: if there is no contrition, there is no forgiveness. St John Vianney would hear up to 300 Confessions per day! One day, he started weeping on hearing the Confession of a man who spoke without any sign of sorrow; hearing his sobbing, the penitent asked why he was weeping. The holy Curé of Ars replied, "My friend, I weep because you do not weep." "Turn to Our Lady and ask her - as a token of her love for you - for the gift of contrition. Ask that you may be sorry, with the sorrow of Love, for all your sins and for the sins of all men and women throughout the ages... 'Acts of contrition, the more the better!'" (St Josemaría).