Monday 3rd week in ordinary time
"Mk 3:22-30"
Jesus said to the scribes, "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"- for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."
How is it that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can't be forgiven?' Christians have been told innumerable times that all sins can be forgiven. And now we read that, actually, there is one that can't be forgiven! In the past, some have even tried to use this passage to deny the existence of the Christian God: 'If God is Almighty He certainly can forgive all sins. If God can't forgive a sin... He is not Almighty.' It is another formula of the classic argument: 'If God is Almighty... can He create a rock so heavy that He can't lift it?'
Leaving aside the fact that the sentence is a silly paradox, we could say that, in fact, God 'has actually created that rock'. It is called "freedom". God has made us free. He has paid for our freedom with all the Blood of Jesus. So, if a man decides to reject forgiveness, the Almighty God can't change the man's mind. That's the catch. An aspirin can relieve a headache, but only if you take it! Contemplating the box of aspirins, holding one in your hand or sticking one with adhesive tape to your forehead will not relieve the pain. That is not because the aspirin is faulty, but because your wit is faulty. It would be stupid to complain that a doctor is unable to cure your illness if you have never actually allowed him to touch you, talk to you or even if he has never seen you!
In the same way, God can forgive any sin... as long as we repent and ask for forgiveness. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has been called, ever since St Augustine's times, the final impenitence, the lack of repentance. They are like someone with a strong migraine who stubbornly refuses to take their medicine and prefers to live (and even die) in pain. That's the situation of a sinner who stubbornly rejects God's forgiveness and prefers to live (and even die) in the misery of their sins.
Let's pray, through the intercession of Our Lady, Mother of Mercy, for the conversion of those sinners who stubbornly reject God's Mercy.
