Day 21: On Doing Penance for Our Sins
"Consider, first, those words of Christ, Luke xiii. 3-5. "Except ye do penance, ye shall all perish". Behold here a general rule, nor does our Lord make any exception. Penance then is necessary; first, for those whose conscience accuses them of mortal sin; alas! such as these must either do penance for their sins, or burn for them for all eternity! Poor sinners! their state is most deplorable! they are playing upon the brink of hell, and every moment one or other of them is tumbling into that bottomless pit; and is it possible they should be unconcerned under so great and evident a danger? Why then do they not lay hold of the grace of penance, the only plank that can save hem from shipwreck; the only means left for the salvation of their souls. Secondly, penance is necessary for all those who, though their conscience accuses them not at present, yet have, in heir past life, been guilty of such mortal offences. Ah! Christians, one mortal sin enough for us to do penance during all our life. And how can we do less, if we consider what mortal sin is; what It is to have been the enemies ot God; what it is so have been under the sentence of eternal damnation; and never to know for certain whether this sentence has been cancelled! Is not this sufficient to oblige us to a penitential life? Can we otherwise pretend to be secure? Even these (and God best knows how few they are) who are not conscious to themselves of having committed such a sin in their whole lifetime, must not therefore think themselves exempt from the obligation of doing penance; as well because of their own hidden sins, as of those which they may have occasioned in others; for "no man knows whether he be worthy of love or hatred" Eccl. viii. 9. as also, because a penitential life is the best security against sin, which will insensibly prevail over us, if not curbed by self-denial, mortification, and penance."
Source:
"Think well on't, or, Reflections on the great truths of the Christian religion for every day of the month" by Rev. Richard Challoner
Read by: ancientchristian, Librivox https://bit.ly/2SqcBSj
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