Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator
I imagine every one of us, members of CUSA, imagine what it would be like for Jesus to speak to us the way he spoke to the paralytic in today's Gospel. It would be wonderful if someone could say to us, "Rise, pick up your mat and go home." Arthritis of many kinds, amputations, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, infantile paralysis, and a host of other chronic conditions make it almost impossible for us to do just that.
The fact of the matter is that Jesus does speak to us every day. If we turn to him in true repentance, he speaks the words: "Your sins are forgiven you." Perhaps we have heard these words so often that we take them for granted. The opposite may also be true. Perhaps we haven't taken the time to tell Jesus that we are sorry for our sins. While the Church has ritualized this in the Sacrament of Penance, these words are spoken to us each time we offer an act of contrition.
As a priest and a confessor, I have experienced on more than one occasion when a person comes to confession and says, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I have no sins to confess." They don't seem to recognize the contradiction in these words. The fact that we are all sinners to some degree or another doesn't seem to enter into their minds. While I gently apprise them of the fact that I cannot offer absolution unless they confess some sin, some of them remain obstinate in their contention that they have nothing to confess. Sadly, I cannot offer them the consoling words of absolution. The very same thing is true with Jesus. Unless we express sorrow for our sins, admitting that we are sinners, we will never hear those words that Jesus offers the paralytic in today's Gospel: "Your sins are forgiven."