When Jesus saw the woman, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier. And they that bare him stood still: and he said, Young man, I say unto thee, arise. And he that was dead sat up and began to speak; and he gave him to his mother.
Many Fathers have seen in the mother who recovers her dead son an image of the Church, which also receives her children who have died of sin through the merciful action of Christ. The Church, who is Mother, in her sorrow "intercedes for each of her children as the widowed mother did for her only son". She "rejoices daily," comments St. Augustine, "with those who are raised in their souls. The former, dead in body; the latter, dead in spirit". If the Lord has compassion on a multitude who are hungry, how can he not have compassion on those who suffer from a sickness of the soul or who already bear within themselves death for eternal life?
The Church is merciful "when she draws people to the fountains of the Savior's mercy, of which she is the depository and dispenser". Especially "in the Eucharist and in the sacrament of penance or reconciliation. The Eucharist always brings us closer to that love which is stronger than death". And it is the sacrament of Penance "that paves the way for everyone, even when he feels under the weight of great faults. In this sacrament every person can experience mercy in a singular way, that is, the love that is stronger than sin".
Jesus again passes through our streets and cities and takes pity on the many evils that afflict this suffering humanity; above all he takes pity on those who are burdened with the only absolute evil that exists, sin. He says to all of us: Come to Me.... He invites each one of us to remove the heavy burden of sin. He exercises his mercy by healing and relieving us of the heaviest burden, especially in sacramental Confession, one of the most joyful mysteries of divine mercy. When he instituted this sacrament, he had his eyes full of goodness on each one of us who were to come after him, on our mistakes, on our weaknesses, on the occasions when we were perhaps going to stay away from the House of the Father. This is also the sacrament of divine patience, the sacrament of our Father God, who every day, at the gates of eternity, sees the return of his departed children.
Let us examine today how we appreciate this sacrament that Christ instituted with so much love to give Life if he had died for mortal sin and to strengthen us if we were weak or sick because of faults and venial sins.