Sermon 393

SERMO 393

On the Penitents

He is not truly penitent who does not change his life.

Penitents, penitents, penitents (if indeed you are penitents, and not mockers), amend your life, be reconciled to God. For you also feed with a chain. With what chain, you ask? What you bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven. Do you hear the binding and think you can deceive God? You do penance, kneel, laugh, and mock the patience of God? If you are penitent, be penitent; if you are not penitent, you are not a penitent. If you are penitent, why do you do what you have done wrong? If you are sorry for what you did, do not do it. If you still do it, certainly you are not penitent. Indeed, dearest, men are sick, they send to the church, or they are carried to the church, and they are baptized, and renewed, and will be happy thenceforth. But this is not the cause of repentance. He who has not yet received Baptism has not yet violated the Sacrament: but he who has violated the Sacrament by living badly and desperately, and for this reason has been removed from the altar, lest he eat and drink judgment on himself; let him change his life, correct himself, and be reconciled, while he lives, while he is healthy. Does he also expect to be reconciled then, when he begins to die? We have known many who expired, waiting to be reconciled. Then also I say in the sight of God, to your fear, my fear. But he who does not fear, despises me who fear, but to his own harm. Listen then. I am certain that a baptized man, if he leads a life, I do not dare to say without sin, for who is without sin? but leads a life without crime, and has such sins as are daily forgiven in the prayer saying: Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; when he finishes the day, he does not finish life, but passes from life to life, from labor to rest, from misery to blessedness: whether he runs to Baptism by his will, or is baptized in danger and leaves this life, he goes to the Lord, he goes to rest. But a baptized deserter and violator of such a Sacrament, if he does penance from his whole heart, if he does penance where God sees, who saw the heart of David, when rebuked by the prophet, and seriously rebuked, after the terrible threats of God he exclaimed, saying: I have sinned; and soon heard: The Lord has taken away your sin. Such is the value of three syllables. They are three syllables: I have sinned; but in these three syllables, the flame of the sacrifice of the heart ascends to heaven. Therefore, who truly does penance, and is loosed from the binding by which he was restrained and separated from the body of Christ, and lives well after penance, as he ought to have lived before penance, whenever he dies after reconciliation, he goes to God, he goes to rest, he will not be deprived of the kingdom of God, he will be separated from the people of the devil. But if anyone, placed in the last necessity of his illness, wants to do penance, and does it, and is immediately reconciled, and goes from here; I confess to you, we do not deny him what he asks, but we do not presume that he leaves well. I do not presume: I do not deceive you, I do not presume. A faithful man living well, leaves here securely. A baptized man at the hour, leaves here securely. Doing penance, and reconciled while healthy, and living well afterward, leaves here securely. Doing penance at the last and reconciled, if he leaves here securely, I am not secure. Where I am secure, I am secure, and give security: where I am not secure, I can give penance, I cannot give security. (But someone may say: Dear priest, you say you do not know and cannot give us any security if he is saved, and deserves to go to Christ, to whom penance is given when dying, who while he lived, while he was healthy, was not penitent; so teach us, please, how we should live well after penance. I say: abstain from drunkenness, lust, theft, and evil-speaking, from immoderate laughter, from idle talk, for which men will give account on the day of judgment. Behold how light I have said. Yet all are serious and pestilent. And I say further: Not only after penance should a man keep himself from these vices, but also before penance, while healthy; because if he stands at the last of life, he does not know if he will be able to receive penance and confess his sins to God and the priest. Behold why I said that we must live well even before penitence, and better after penitence). Consider what I say: I need to explain it more clearly, lest anyone misunderstand me. Do I say: He will be damned? I do not say. But neither do I say: He will be freed. And what do you say to me? I do not know: I do not presume, I do not promise; I do not know. Do you want to free yourself from doubt? Do you want to avoid what is uncertain? Do penance while you are healthy. For if you do true penance, while you are healthy, and the last day finds you, run to be reconciled; if you do so, you are secure. Why are you secure? Because you did penance at the time when you could sin. But if you then want to do penance when you can no longer sin; your sins have left you, not you them. But how do you know, you ask, perhaps God may forgive me? You speak the truth. How, I do not know. That I know, this I do not know. Therefore, I give you penance because I do not know. For if I knew it would not profit you, I would not give it to you. Again, if I knew it would profit you, I would not admonish you, I would not frighten you. There are two things: either it is forgiven you, or it is not forgiven: which of these will happen to you, I do not know. Therefore, leave the uncertain, hold the certain.