Start Here
17. You Do Not Have to Make Yourself Worthy Before Coming Home
Start Here: a guided path for first steps through the whole work.
“I came not to call the just, but sinners to .”
Some souls do not remain outside because they doubt that God exists or that the Catholic Faith is true. They remain outside because they have begun to believe that mercy is for a different kind of sinner.
They remember years away from God, a concealed habit, a broken marriage, an abortion, , , dishonesty, cruelty, neglected duties, abandoned prayer, or Confessions made badly. They may believe every Catholic doctrine placed before them and still whisper, “It is too late for me.” Others say, “I will return when I have conquered this sin,” as though a man should wait to be cured before approaching the physician.
Our Lord answers both errors plainly. He came to call sinners—not to tell them that sin does not matter, but to call them to . The command to return and the by which the sinner returns come from the same merciful Saviour.
Shame Can Imitate Humility
There is a shame that helps the soul. It makes sin bitter, awakens sorrow, and moves a man to kneel before God without excuses. But there is another shame that looks while serving . It says, “My sin is too great for Christ's Blood. My history is stronger than His mercy. I must repair myself before He may receive me.”
This is not . tells the whole truth: the sin is real, its guilt is mine, I cannot myself, and Jesus Christ has established the remedy I need.
The prodigal son did not return because he had made himself worthy. He returned while confessing the opposite:
“I will arise, and will go to my father, and say to him: Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before thee: I am not now worthy to be called thy son.”
— Luke 15:18–19, original Rheims New Testament (1582)1
His unworthiness did not become an argument for remaining among the swine. It became part of his confession. He arose and went.
The Father Sees the Returning Sinner
Our Lord does not end the parable with the son rehearsing his misery. He shows what happens on the road home:
“And rising up he came to his father. And when he was yet far off, his father saw him, and was moved with mercy, and running to him fell upon his neck, and kissed him.”
— Luke 15:20, original Rheims New Testament (1582)1
God's mercy is not permission to remain in the far country. It is the welcome given to the sinner who arises, turns, confesses, and comes home. The father does not travel into the far country to call starvation a feast. He receives the son who has returned to himself and returned to his father.
This is why Catholic mercy is stronger than sentimental reassurance. Sentiment says, “Do not trouble yourself; perhaps the sin was nothing.” Christ says that the dead may revive and the lost may be found. He does not save by denying death. He restores life.
“Because this my son was dead, and is revived: was lost, and is found.”
— Luke 15:24, original Rheims New Testament (1582)1
Penance Is the Road of Return
To return is more than to feel regret. The sinner must reject the sin, grieve because he has offended God, resolve with the help of to avoid it, confess as commands, accept satisfaction, repair injuries where requires it, and begin again under .
The Council of Trent teaches that Our Lord instituted the of for those who fall into sin after Baptism, so that the and they lost might be recovered through the remedy He established.2 Christ gave this power concretely to His priests:
“Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose you shall retain, they are retained.”
— John 20:22–23, original Rheims New Testament (1582)1
Therefore the returning Catholic should seek a faithful priest possessing orders and the required for . He should ask for help making a sound examination of if he has been away for many years. He need not produce elegant words. He must tell the truth, without deliberately concealing , and receive the with and a real purpose of .
Fear of Confession commonly grows in the dark. The soul imagines the priest's surprise, God's rejection, or an impossible future. Bring each fear into the light. A faithful confessor has heard the accusations of sinners before. He is not appointed to admire your past or humiliate your weakness. He sits as judge and physician under the law of Christ, administering a purchased by the Precious Blood.
Mercy Does Not Remove the Cross
Forgiveness does not always remove earthly consequences. Trust may need to be rebuilt. Stolen goods may need . Near occasions of sin may need to be abandoned. A sinful relationship may need to end. Habits strengthened over years may require long warfare, guarded circumstances, frequent prayer, and spiritual direction.
This does not mean the Confession failed. It means restores friendship with God while the healed soul begins to repair what sin disordered and to resist what once enslaved him. does not make vigilance unnecessary. It makes faithful combat possible.
Nor should repeated be confused with consent. A penitent may leave Confession and discover that the old battle still waits. He must not say, “Then I was not forgiven.” He must use the means placed before him: prayer, custody of the senses, flight from occasions, worthy reception of the , honest work, , the Rosary, and prompt return after any fall. Perseverance is learned by persevering.
Place Your Shame in Our Lady's Hands
A sinner may find it difficult even to begin speaking to God. Then let him go to Jesus through Mary. Our Lady does not make sin harmless and never conceals it from her Son. She obtains for the soul the courage to do whatever He commands. Place the shame, fear, and confused history into her hands. Ask her to lead you to a truthful Confession and to stand near while is broken and restores order.
Say simply: “Mother of God, I have delayed long enough. Lead me to thy Divine Son. Obtain for me true , an honest Confession, and perseverance after I return.”
Then act. Do not wait for a feeling of worthiness. Do not promise yourself a better month first. Do not attempt to purchase mercy by private suffering while refusing the remedy Christ instituted. Make the examination. Contact the priest. Arrange the Confession. Remove the immediate occasion of sin that you already know must go.
God Himself declares through the prophet:
“If the impious shall do from all his sins, which he hath wrought, and shall keep all my precepts, and do judgement, and : living he shall live, and shall not die. All his iniquities, which he hath wrought, I will not remember them.”
— Ezechiel 18:21–22, original Douay Old Testament (1609–1610)3
You do not become worthy and then come home. You come home by , confessing that you are not worthy, and Christ restores what you could never alone.
Arise and go to your Father.
Continue from Here
If you need help beginning, read How to Make a True Confession and How to Examine Your Conscience. For the deeper formation that must follow the first return, enter Conversion and the New Man.
Sources and Editorial Notes
Footnotes
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The New Testament of Jesus Christ, Translated Faithfully into English, out of the Authentical Latin (Rheims: John Fogny, 1582), original translation with spelling modernized; typographical ampersands expanded and annotation markers omitted. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Council of Trent, Session XIV (25 November 1551), Doctrine on the of , chapters 1–4; Catechism of the Council of Trent for Parish Priests, trans. Rev. John A. McHugh, O.P., and Rev. Charles J. Callan, O.P. (New York: Joseph F. Wagner, 1923), part II, “The of .” ↩
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The Holie Bible Faithfully Translated into English, out of the Authentical Latin (Douay: Laurence Kellam, 1609–1610), original translation with spelling modernized; typographical ampersands expanded and annotation markers omitted. ↩