Do Not Delay

Today’s first reading gives us much instruction on how we ought to live. “Of forgiveness be not overconfident, adding sin upon sin. Say not: ‘Great is his mercy; my many sins he will forgive.’” (Sirach 5:5-6) 

How often do we fall into the sin of presumption? How often do we postpone going to confession so we can continue doing our will and not His? Or maybe we have gotten so lax about receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation thinking we don’t need it because we haven’t committed a mortal sin. All sin causes separation from God who is the source of Life so all sin has a deadly component to it. Sin clouds our judgment and frequently receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation gets rid of the clouds. It clears our hearts and we step out of the confessional ready to stand firm in our faith and avoid the occasions of sin.

“Delay not your conversion to the LORD, put it not off from day to day.” (Sirach 5:8) Whenever I read this verse I think of my husband. I often wonder what he is waiting for. What is it that keeps him from drawing closer to God? What is it that keeps him from embracing the Catholic faith? But I can’t worry about that. I have to place it in God’s hands. This passage speaks to all of us because each day we must choose to follow Christ, each day we have to embrace our cross. In the early church they believed that baptism brought the forgiveness of sins and that those who were numbered among the faithful were expected to live exemplary lives. During this time period the penitential practices for those who lapsed into immorality were quite severe so some converts chose to wait until the end of their lives figuring that a deathbed baptism would be more effective because it would wash away more sins and decrease the amount of time they had to live an exemplary life. What a gamble! How often were they wrong about that? The time for each one of us to choose Christ is now.

In a meditation by Dom Mauro Giuseppe Lepori, the Abbot General of the Cistercian Order, he wrote about Peter’s decision to follow Jesus. Every day Peter felt the joy of being able to love Jesus by allowing himself to be carried, by everyone and by everything, where he would not have wanted to go except for Jesus. It was joy and the height of freedom to sacrifice one’s own will for the will of the Beloved. What freedom, to want what would be undesirable except for love! His hands were always stretched out, always empty, always ready to let himself be taken and led by Christ in everything, by Christ in everyone, always. Let us not delay in surrendering to Christ and allowing him to lead us where he may.