My Dear People,  

Thank you to all who participated in my birthday celebration and all who wished me a Happy Birthday. May God bless you and your families.

From the book of Ezekiel, we learn the importance of repentance and a willingness to change our lives and make a firm resolution never to sin again. If an individual, who led a life of sin, repents; that is: “if he turns from the wickedness he has committed, and does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life. Since he has turned away from all the sins he committed, he shall surely live, and he shall not die.” 

Prophets like Ezekiel represent the word of God, and one important point which they mention often is they tell the people God wants all to repent and to turn from their sinful ways.  When the people of Israel did not repent or turn from their sinful ways, such as worshipping pagan gods, (they were warned, and still they did not heed the message) they eventually were occupied by Assyria and were dispersed throughout other lands. {To this day, no one knows where the ten tribes of Israel are}.  

No matter how many sins one has committed and how grave the sins are, when one repents and is sorry for his/her sins and commits to change their life, they are fulfilling God’s will and will be blessed with the grace of God. No matter what, if one repents, sins will be forgiven. This shows how great is the love and mercy of God!  

God wants to extend His love and mercy to all people. God does not rejoice in the condemnation of anyone. It is the deeds that make a difference, especially after the individual has repented. Such deeds make a difference because that is what God wants. 

In the council of Trent, it was stated: “…. contrition encompasses not only the end of sin and the beginning of new life, but the reparation of the old, sinful life. 

"Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed 

against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! 

(Ezek. 18:31) (Council of Trent, Session 14,4). 

In the Gospel, Jesus emphasizes the importance of repentance and turning from evil ways to do the will of God. Jesus speaks of the first son who did his father’s will, which the chief priests and elders recognized. But what Jesus said next utterly dumbfounded them. Jesus tells them tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God 'before you'. (Tax collectors and prostitutes were considered to be at the bottom of the socio religious scale and outside God’s covenant—the kind of people chief priests and elders looked upon with distaste.) That Jesus would say these sinful outsiders will enter the Kingdom of God before the chief priests and elders would have been completely astounding—and offensive. Yet, like the first son, these notorious sinners, who rebelled initially, repented when they heard the exhortation of John the Baptist.    

At the same time, Jesus links the chief priests and elders with the second son. The elders and priests had the law, and by taking office they affirmed that they would do God’s will. But when God sent his prophet John the Baptist calling all to repent, they did not believe John.  They found themselves watching the sinners enter God’s kingdom before them. It is implied that if they failed to repent, they would be left out of the kingdom (8:11-22). [Section from The Gospel of Matthew by Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri]

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Vincent Clemente