During a mission in Italy, a man came up to me and joyfully exclaimed, "Sister, I'm so happy! I went on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje this year, and experienced a deep conversion! I gave up almost all my sins!"
"Almost?????" I asked.
"Yes! There is only one I still keep."
"But, why did you keep that sin?"
"Because I like that one!"
I looked down at the floor to recollect my thoughts and examine my soul. It was important not to give a careless answer to this statement.
"How could you voluntarily hold on to a sin?"
"But I dropped all the others! There is only one left."
"Look, my friend, we are all sinners. However, it is one thing to fail out of weakness, it is quite another to actually want to continue sinning. When you receive Jesus in the Eucharist, you tell Him that you love Him, that you adore Him, that you are so happy to know Him, don't you? So how is it that at the same time, you slap Him most cruelly in the face? It is my sin, yours, and those committed by all men that nailed Jesus to the cross. So you decided to hurt Him again by keeping a sin alive?"
"Why are you saying that? The sin I want to keep is hurting Him? Oh my gosh! I never thought of it that way!"
"In addition to that, wanting to keep a serious sin is like keeping a door open for the evil one, who is nothing short of delighted to have that private little entrance he can use to come and do his damage inside you, in your family, your health, and mess up your life without your even realizing where the problem is coming from."
"Well, I will do everything I can to renounce even this sin! Please pray for me!"
This man was sincere. He simply lacked some basic information! There is such ignorance today about the Christian faith. Huge numbers of "believers" are unaware of even very basic realities. Satan is lulling our consciences to sleep by making us focus solely on our earthy wellbeing. Saint John of the Cross wept with compassion when, seeing so many souls abandoned to their own devices, dangerously wandered about without direction when they were in fact all called to a high degree of sanctity. What a waste!
Our Mother never ceases to call us to become witnesses, apostles and missionaries, because the harvest is more abundant than ever! She sees it all clearly. For her children who do not yet know the love of God, the sufferings that come from serious sins (some that are permitted and encouraged by civil laws!) is immense. Lawmakers and governments bear a heavy responsibility before God. The words of Saint Paul: "The wages of sin is death", have not become obsolete today. Our culture of death is creating agony for millions of children and young people! So Mary comes to Medjugorje to proclaim that our true peace is in Jesus alone. Because not many of us are listening, she even arranged for her Son Himself to speak to us at Christmas: "I am your peace. Live my commandments", he said on December 25th. In the Gospel, He already told us, "If you will to enter into life, keep the commandments."
Sister Emmanuele
Children of Medjugorje 2013