Despite our weaknesses and sins

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

On the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, celebrated on June 29, we are somehow reminded that God can work well with and through anyone of us who obviously has his own share of weaknesses, not to mention, sins.

In the case of these two apostles, we know that St. Peter denied Christ three times, but later on repented. St. Paul, before his conversion, was a rabid persecutor of the early Christians. And yet Christ not only chose them as apostles but also gave them some leading roles in the life of the Church.

We should always hope and be open to the many mysterious and wonderful ways of God. No matter how bad people, things and events may look, there is always that possibility that they can still turn out to be good, useful and faithful. We should never be condemnatory of anyone or anything in the final sense of the word.

Yes, we of course have to uphold as clearly as possible the distinction between what is right and wrong, what is good and evil. But to make the final judgment on persons and things belongs only to God. We should never preempt God in this.

Practically everyone who worked for God in the Bible had their own share of weaknesses and even sin. We can mention a few, like Abraham, Isaac, Moses, etc. The same with all the apostles. St. Joseph thought of separating from Our Lady when he found out she was already with child before they lived together.

In the case of Judas Iscariot, I was happy to learn from the late Pope Benedict XVI that despite what he did to Christ, we cannot make the final judgment of condemnation on him. That belongs to God alone. What we know about him is that while what he did to Christ was truly wrong, there was a sign of repentance on his part though he carried it out also in the wrong way by committing suicide.

All these only prove that God can work well with sinners, somehow giving credence to what St. Paul once said—“Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more.” (Rome 5,20)

On our part, we just have to be aware that we are always prone to sin, but there is always hope. God will always do everything to bring us back to him. What we just have to do is to try our best to foster a spirit of penance for our unavoidable mistakes, failures and sin, and to always feel the need for continuing conversion.

We should always feel the need for conversion. The mark of true saints is precisely the awareness of their weaknesses and sinfulness, and also their hunger and thirst for repentance and conversion. Whatever good they did humbled them instead of leaving them proud. They knew who and what was behind all the accomplishments they made, and were more keenly aware of their inadequacies, their mistakes, faults, infidelities, etc.

It’s their driving love for God and souls that keep them feeling always the need for penance and conversion. It’s not just fear of sin and evil that provokes this hunger. It’s love of God and souls. It’s this love that made them see many things that they need to do.

Due to this love, they also sharply knew that on their own, all they could do is evil, not good. St. Augustine said something to this effect. We are actually nothing without God. We simply would have no resistance against evil.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com