The Spirit of Penitence and the Message of Fatima
"At its fundamental core, the message of Fatima is a call to conversion and repentance, as in the Gospel (…). The Lady of the message seemed to read the signs of the times—the signs of our time—with special insight. The call to penance is a maternal call; at the same time, it is energetic and made with decisiveness." Today, in our prayer, we receive this voice of the Virgin—at once sweet and strong—which urges us, as if addressed personally to each one of us.
Throughout the Gospel, the words repent and do penance resonate. Jesus began His mission by asking for penance: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This word signifies the conversion of the sinner and designates a whole set of interior and exterior acts aimed at repairing the sin committed.
The Virgin reminds us that without penance, the Kingdom of her Son is not received; without penance, one remains in the kingdom of sin. Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish, the Lord had announced. For this reason, in the message spread by the Apostles at the birth of the Church, the preaching of this virtue occupied an essential place. The entire time of the pilgrim Church in which we find ourselves appears as spatium verae poenitentiae—a time of true penance granted by the Lord so that no one may perish.
Penance is necessary because sin exists and we are not strangers to it; because it is necessary to make reparation for so many faults and weaknesses of our own and of our brothers; and because no one, without a special and extraordinary privilege, is confirmed in grace. "The ultimate goal of penance," teaches Pope John Paul II, "consists in leading us to love God intensely and to consecrate ourselves to Him." The Holy Curé of Ars used to affirm that it is as necessary for the soul as breathing is for the life of the body.
Practical Manifestations of Penance
The first sign of this virtue is manifested in the love for frequent Confession of our current and past faults. This leads us to desire it, to prepare for it with care and true contrition, and to carry out an effective apostolate among our relatives and friends to bring them closer to this sacrament of mercy and joy.
The virtue of penance must be present, in some way, in the ordinary actions of every day:
Punctuality: In the exact fulfillment of the schedule you have set for yourself, even if the body resists or the mind tries to escape with chimerical daydreams. Penance is getting up on time.
Diligence: Not leaving for later, without a justified reason, that task which you find most difficult or costly.
Order: Knowing how to balance your obligations to God, to others, and to yourself, demanding of yourself so that you find the time each thing needs.
Piety: You are penitent when you lovingly adhere to your plan of prayer, even if you are exhausted, reluctant, or cold.
"Penance is always treating others with maximum charity, starting with those closest to you. It is attending with the greatest delicacy to those who suffer, the sick, and those in pain. It is answering with patience those who are annoying or ill-timed. It is interrupting or modifying our plans when circumstances—especially the good and just interests of others—require it."
Cheerfulness: Penance consists in enduring with good humor the thousand small setbacks of the day; in not abandoning a task even if the enthusiasm with which you started it has faded; in eating with gratitude what is served, without bothering others with whims.
Responsibility: For parents and educators, penance is correcting when it is necessary to do so, according to the nature of the error and the condition of the person who needs help, rising above foolish and sentimental subjectivism.
"The spirit of penance leads one not to become inordinately attached to that monumental draft of future projects, in which we have already envisioned what our master strokes and brushes will be. What joy we give to God when we know how to renounce our amateur scribbles and brushstrokes, and allow Him to be the one to add the features and colors that most please Him!" What a beautiful masterpiece appears then!
HCD