Great are you, Lord, and very worthy of all praise! Magnificent are the works of the Most High! Small are human works!
God’s work is forgiveness. Only God can forgive sins. In effect: Every sin, even the least venial sin, is an offense to God. But, obviously, an offense can only be forgiven by the one who has been offended. Therefore, only God can forgive sins. It is also true that he who sins incurs a debt with God. For this reason, in the Lord’s Prayer, we say: he forgives our debts. Only he who is owed something can forgive the debt. Therefore, only God can forgive sin, which is a debt. The forgiveness of sins is a divine work!
In the sacrament of reconciliation, the one who forgives is not the priest, but Christ. We are forgiven by the Lord of heaven and earth, God! It is a divine wonder! Only God does great work!
Without using marble, not even Michelangelo could have made The Pietà. On the other hand, God made the world without using anything. By divine will alone, he went from the fact that only God existed to the fact that the universe also existed. He wanted it, and it existed! Creating, making out of nothing, can only be done by infinite power, God. Creation must be something very great, since it required infinite power!
It is a much greater task to restore grace to those who have lost it, to forgive them, than to create such a beautiful cosmos. Hence, infinite power must be attributed even more to justifying than to creating. What a great thing it is to forgive, since it requires so much power!
You pay more for a diamond than for a piece of glass. If something really costs a lot, it is worth a lot and, therefore, it is very desirable to possess it.
The forgiveness of sins is very desirable, since it has cost a high price, the most precious blood of the one who is true God. God the Father has so wanted to give us his forgiveness that, in his infinite mercy, he has handed us over to his only Son, most beloved, favorite. The image of this donation is the sacrifice of Isaac. Jesus paid the penalty we had deserved. He bore our sins. The righteous man was condemned for the salvation of sinners. The innocent suffered for the health of the guilty. The wounds of Christ have healed us. He didn’t take his life, he gave it willingly. That who God it was murdered is a reality so tremendous that it overwhelms us. That, being infinitely great, he loved us so much, and so eloquently, that he came to die crucified, is a truth that surpasses our capacity. He has written his love with his blood! He wanted to suffer everything to forgive us. Let us never forget that the purpose of embracing so much suffering was to give ourselves forgiveness. The price of our forgiveness was not something perishable, like gold and silver, but the most precious blood, like that of a most innocent and pure lamb, of him who is God. How great the price paid! How much is forgiveness worth? What a great thing forgiveness is! How desirable it is to receive forgiveness!
The seriously ill person so desires the medicines that can cure him that, even the bitter ones, he considers them to be sweet, dear, tasty and pleasant. But, since the soul is more important than the body, the remedies provided by divine wisdom for the health of the soul are even more pleasant and desirable to him.
Since forgiveness is something so great, sublime and excellent, he must try to go to the sacrament of forgiveness. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to believe that he who does not use it does not despise a useful and necessary thing, especially when Our Lord has given the Church the great power of forgiveness so that everyone can take advantage of such a healthy remedy.
Life and death are closely linked. Thus, every second that passes is one less moment of life, something that has already been buried. Every moment lived is to die a little. For this reason, to live is to die. To live is to shorten a temporal segment until it ceases to exist. It can be stated, concisely, that to live is to die. Living is saying goodbye to everything. Just as it can happen at any time that a light bulb that is shining burns out, a sudden death can also occur. For this reason, those who have sinned mortally avoid eternal damnation or death by going to confession while there is still time. Thus, death will open to the life beyond. How important it is that I be forgiven, not making the high price paid for Christ useless for me!
In short, what a great thing it is to be forgiven! How desirable it is! So let’s go to confession!
