Catholic Hermit: Child, Your Sins Are Forgiven

While there are differing translations to Mark 2:5, whether Jesus said "Son, your sins are forgiven" or "Child, your sins are forgiven"--or even if He exhorts firstly:  "Take courage" or "Take heart...your sins are forgiven you!"--sometimes we ought step back and savor Christ's simple, radical, very real forgiveness of our sins.

Such are Christ's Living Words for us today--as it was when the friends, caretakers, family of the paralytic found no other means to get the son or child close to Jesus to get His attention and lowered him down to Jesus, by opening up the roof to do so.  As is written in Scripture:  "When Jesus saw their faith...."  It was their faith that stole Christ's Heart of Love, moved Him to pity, and right then and there, Jesus told the paralytic that his sins are forgiven.

Having such faith in Christ can easily elude us in our daily lives.  Even for a consecrated Catholic hermit of a score of years, I can find myself--or so it seems sometimes--not actually realizing the reality and freedom that Jesus has forgiven my sins.  Or there are times in which I may not have had the strength of faith when approaching the Lord for forgiveness either in the silence of my hermitage or when partaking of Sacramental Confession with the priest, an alter Christus.  

It is not that I may not have the faith when approaching the Lord or when in confession and after priestly absolution by the power of God vested in him, and in the Name of Christ; but more often, as I reflect upon it, I am not in awareness that I ought to have faith, that I should be consciously and subconsciously approaching Jesus with such faith and desire for and in His forgiveness.  Then, after, to also consider with thought and knowing, with heart and soul, that truly I have been fully forgiven my sins!

I'm beginning to read a book sent me in the post, and in the first chapter am reminded of St. John of the Cross' understanding and positing more along the lines of Aristotle's philosophy and St. Thomas' theology in which we are able to learn and gain knowledge based upon our senses and what they are able through sense awareness, to develop in knowing through what is first sensed.

Perhaps with faith in Christ and in the power of God's forgiveness, we gain awareness through our outer senses first, and then within.  To become aware by reading and hearing of such forgiveness in Scripture, then to experience others who relate of their being forgiven, and our seeing the effects with our senses, as well as to feel and see and observe the effects of God's forgiving us, will in tandem increase our faith in Christ as well as to increasingly know the reality of our being fully forgiven.

I must pray always, "Lord, increase my faith!"  I wonder even know, with spine pain high today and have been mostly in bed other than when I sit at tall table on tall wood chair to pray the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office), what would my body, mind, heart, and soul feel and be if I had great faith to literally feel my sins forgiven and fall from me like heavy bags of concrete mix?

Thus, all the more I appreciate the writings on this topic, by John of Karpathos, in his Texts for the monks in India as cited in The Philokalia.  (I also was not familiar with this 7th century saint, but familiarized myself more.  While not a hermit, his writings and insights on a variety of topics, quite Scripturally based, are most helpful to me, a suffering nothing, a consecrated Catholic hermit, a sinner.  Most grateful to St. John of Karpathos!)

"Why are you downcast?  See, someone's hands are fishy; a little oil makes them clean.  how much more can God's compassion purify you.  For just as you have no difficulty in washing your garment, in the same way--and even more--it is not difficult for the Lord to wash you clean from all reproach even if each day you naturally have to experience temptation.  Indeed, the instant you say 'I have sinned against the Lord,' the response is given you:  'Your sins are forgiven' (Mt. 9:2).  'It is I who wipe out and remember no more' (Is 43:25).  'As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed your sins.  As a father has compassion on his children, I have had compassion on you' (Ps 102[103], 12-13).

"Only do not keep away or distance yourself from He who has chosen you to sing and pray, but all your life long remain close to him either through pure confidence or by a holy audacity and courageous confession.  Then He will hear and purify you.  Is He not God who has justified us in His love for human souls?  Who will condemn us? (cf. Rm 8:33).  If we invoke the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, our conscience is easily purified and nothing separates us from the prophets and other saints.

"For God has not destined us for wrath but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us.  So whether we are awake in virtue or asleep in some kind of woe or are bearing certain circumstances according to nature, we will live with Christ (1 Thes 5:9-10), turning our eyes towards Him, sighing deeply, weeping constantly and only breathing Him.  Let us then put on
the breastplate of faith and wear the helmet of salvation (cf. 1 Thes 5:8) that the arrows of discouragement and despair may not penetrate us."

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Little children, let us love God in Himself, and love one another as God loves us.  Let us in His assurance of faith experience, feel, rejoice in being fully forgiven for our sins, washed clean, free to live and love God and others all the more!  

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for forgiving us, Your children.  Thank you for dying for the remission of our sins.