Medicine for the soul

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I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners

Luke 5, 32

I remember once talking to a non-religious friend at art college about my experience of the Sacrament of Reconciliation - Confession. He couldn’t imagine, putting himself in my shoes, what he would confess; he hadn’t murdered, or committed any crime, after all! Contrast that with Pope Francis, who when he became pope, introduced himself as a sinner. However, we can go too far in this direction too and become paralysed by guilt; a more common problem among religious people, I imagine, or at least among those who have had some kind of religious education. The Irish comedian, Spike Milligan, apparently once said, “I don’t take Communion. It’s too pure and I’m too dirty.” Then there are others who say that they don’t go to church because it is full of hypocrites. How do they really know? If they think they do know, then perhaps they should imagine how much worse a churchgoer might be without going to church!

To follow Christ does not mean claiming to be in any way superior or worse off than anyone else. It is firstly recognising that we are in need of a merciful and forgiving God. Then we recognise that God never tires of coming down to our level. Pope Francis says that Holy Communion, the Eucharist, is not “a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.” (The Joy of the Gospel, no. 47). Salvation is a free gift. It is not deserved, or earned through hard work. It is a gift which we simply - though it is not always simple - have to receive with open arms.

In today’s gospel reading Jesus says: "Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.” (Luke 5, 32)

We Augustinians are inspired by the life of St Augustine of Hippo, who morally and spiritually fell many times. His story tells us that God’s capacity to forgive is always greater than our capacity to sin. You might be sick of falling, but God is never sick of picking you up.

A reflection written by Gianni Notarianni O.S.A., Parish Priest of St Augustine's Hammersmith, London and Director of Austin Forum 

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