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The Easter Cycle
for Thy name’s sake, and abolish not Thy covenant. . . . In a contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be accepted” (Epistle).
“Give glory to Thy name, and deal with us according to the multitude of Thy mercy”
(Introit). The grace and mercy of the Lord works in the sinner the miracle of conversion.
Through the mysterious working of His graces He opens the eyes of the unfortunate woman
and allows her to see the baseness and shamefulness of her life. He implants in her heart the
thought of changing her life, of seeking pardon, and of doing penance for her past offenses.
He gives her the courage to brave the wrath of the Pharisee, and the humility to cast herself
down and confess her guilt before all who are present. How graciously and lovingly Christ
received her confession of guilt! He offers her no reproach, He uses no harsh words, but
sends her away with the assurance, “Thy sins are forgiven thee. . . . Thy faith hath made thee
safe. Go in peace.” How full of understanding He is! He longs to forgive us and make us
happy. “I am not come to call the just, but sinners” (Mt 9:13), those who admit their guilt
and are sorry.
“Bring up sacrifices [of penance, sorrow, and satisfaction for sins; of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving]
and come into His courts. Adore ye the Lord in His holy court. The Lord will discover the
thick woods; and in His temple all shall speak His glory” (Gradual). Today we are penitent, like
the sinful woman of the Gospel. We come with her to the feet of the Lord, in the congregation
of the Church, to hear His consoling words, “Thy sins are forgiven thee.”
“Because she hath loved much,” Magdalen received pardon. “But to whom less is forgiven,
he loveth less.” Precisely because his love is meager, little is forgiven him. The remission of sin
depends on the degree of love. Perfect love, with a contrite heart, is capable of remitting all sins
and the temporal punishment due to them, both here and in purgatory.
“Thy faith hath made thee safe. Go in peace.” In the spirit of faith we approach the representative
of Christ to ask for forgiveness. In faith we confess our sins; and in faith we receive
the words of the priest, “I absolve you from your sins.” In the person of the priest, Christ stands
before us just as he stood before Magdalen. “Go in peace”; be at peace with yourself, with your
neighbor, and with God. The bonds of your sins have been broken, and the tears that you have
shed have extinguished the flames of hell. You were sick when you came, but now you are cured.
You leave the priest with a new life. “Thy sins are forgiven thee. . . . Thy faith hath made thee safe.
Go in peace.” O wonderful sacrament of penance!
Magdalen brought with her a box of ointment to anoint the feet of Jesus. Previously she had
used this precious ointment only for her own adornment, that she might please men. Today she
lays at the feet of Christ that which she had formerly squandered on her body, on vanity, on sin.
With perfect sincerity she sets aside her old life of sin. Her perfect conversion and repentance
is a model for us also.
Prayer
Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that the dignity of humanity, impaired by excessive
indulgence, may be restored by the earnest practice of healing restraint.
Be merciful, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to Thy people, that rejecting the things which displease
Thee, we may rather be filled with the delights of Thy commandments. Through Christ
our Lord. Amen.
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