On this Sunday, in the Cathedral of Piura, the Peruvian Prelate Bishop José Antonio Eguren explained that “sin seeks to plunge us into spiritual death and unhappiness, and is ultimately a suicidal act, because through it, “The human being rejects God-Love, his beginning and foundation, his origin and his end.”
Next, Bishop Eguren highlighted that “every sin, no matter how personal and intimate it may seem, always has social consequences and increases the forces of death and destruction in the world, what we call the mysterium iniquitatis (mystery of inequality ), which cannot be understood without reference to the mystery of redemption, to the mysterium paschale (paschal mystery) of Jesus Christ.”
The Archbishop then highlighted that “without God, the human being fades away, he does not understand himself, he sinks into the existential lie, believing himself to be what he is not, unleashing within him a series of conflicts and contradictions, which he then negatively projects onto others, to their social life, and even to creation.”
In this way, “away from God and from himself, sin also inevitably causes a rupture of man in his relationships with his brothers and with the created world. Not for nothing, after the original sin, the next sin that the book of Genesis narrates is fratricide: Cain, kills his brother Abel out of envy (see Gen 4, 8).
Bishop Eguren also recalls that “one of the great evils of our time is having lost the sense of sin” and that the Catechism of the Catholic Church in section 1849 defines it as “an offense against reason, truth, conscience straight; It is a lack of true love for God and for one’s neighbor, due to a perverse attachment to certain goods. “It hurts the nature of man and attacks human solidarity.”
The Pope affirms that forgiveness is the oxygen that purifies the air contaminated by hate
Saint Augustine defined it as “a word, an act or a desire contrary to the eternal law.”
The Prelate also specified that “the evil and damage that sin produces is of such magnitude that, to save us from it, and to achieve the wonderful gift of reconciliation with God, with ourselves, with our human brothers, and with creation, the Son of God had to become incarnate, die on the cross, and rise gloriously.”
After highlighting that God is always willing to forgive because of his immense mercy, the Archbishop of Piura highlighted the need to forgive others and not hold grudges, nor have desires for hatred or revenge.
In today’s gospel, to the question that Peter asks Jesus about how many times he should forgive, the Lord tells him “I am not telling you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Mt 18, 22).
Since for the Jews, seven meant perfection or fullness, with his response Christ encourages them to forgive always and without limitations.