Without a doubt , the bishop knew that when he held in his hands the chalice , he was holding nothing less than the price of his own redemption ; and that when he drank from it , he was receiving strength to shed his own blood in imitation of his divine Master . “ Allow me to be an imitator of the suffering of my God ,” he pleaded with his fellow Christians in Rome who might be inclined to use their influence to thwart his martyrdom ( Letter to the Romans 6.3 ).
St . Ignatius vividly understood that to share sacramentally in the crucified and risen flesh and blood of Christ both provides the grace needed to conform one ’ s life more and more to his , and obliges one to do so . We must become what we receive in the Eucharist ( St . Augustine , Sermon 227 ).
“ This is what love is : not that we loved God , but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins . Beloved , since God loved us so much , we should love one another ” ( 1 Jn 4:10-11 ). By sharing in the self-sacrificing love of the Good Shepherd , the sheep of his flock receive the capacity to love him more faithfully in return , and to love their neighbor .
Uniting themselves frequently to the sacrificial offering of the Body that was given for them and of the Blood that was “ shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins ” ( Mt 26:28 ), the faithful receive strength to be true to the promises made in Baptism : to renounce sin , Satan , and all his deceitful works . Receiving Holy Communion with the proper disposition separates us from sin , remits venial sins , and helps to preserve us from future grave sins ( CCC , no . 1393-1395 ).
Could We Lose God ’ s Mercy ?
Yet , even after having received the outpouring of Divine Mercy in the Sacraments , it is still possible to fall away from grace ( Gal 5:4 ) through serious sin — and thereby risk forfeiting eternal salvation ( Mt 7:21 ; Gal 5:21 ; Eph 5:5-6 ; Rv 21:8,27 ). It is possible to “ receive the grace of God in vain ” ( 2 Cor 6:1 ).
“ Although Baptism is necessary for salvation , it is not sufficient .”
The apostle St . Paul tearfully grieves for those Christians who “ live as enemies of the cross of Christ ” and whose “ end is destruction ” ( Phil 3:18-19 ). He earnestly exhorts believers to “ work out your salvation in fear and trembling ” ( Phil 2:12 ).
The Church teaches dogmatically that the Sacraments confer sanctifying grace only on those who do not place an obstacle ( obex ) in the path of that grace . But unrepented mortal sin is directly opposed to the work of grace in us , and causes us to lose the state of friendship with God ( CCC , no . 1861 ), which we received in Baptism .
Repent — and Return to the Father
Therefore , we must understand that although Baptism is necessary for salvation , it is not sufficient . We must sincerely repent for all grave sins committed after Baptism , and bring these again to the Divine Mercy for forgiveness , in the Sacrament of Penance that Christ entrusted to his apostles ( Jn 20:23 ; cf . Mt 16:19 ; 18:18 ), and through them to their successors , the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church ( CCC , no . 983 ). May eternal praise rise in our hearts that our Lord Jesus is indeed merciful enough to keep on forgiving us , no matter how many times we fall !
The Father ’ s arms are always open to the son who renounces his wretched life of rebellion and comes back home to beg forgiveness ( Lk 15:20-24 ). We can once again enjoy “ the glorious freedom of the children of God ” ( Rom 8:21 ) by the outpouring of the Spirit of adoption . Through sacramental reconciliation , we can re-enter the one sheepfold , the Church , in which our salvation is secure ( Jn 10:7-9 ).
“ There is no offense , however serious , that the Church cannot forgive . There is no one , however wicked and guilty , who may not confidently hope for forgiveness ,
“ Christ . . . desires that in his Church the gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone .”
provided his repentance is honest ,” the Catholic catechism teaches . “ Christ who died for all men desires that in his Church the gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns away from sin ” ( no . 982 ).
We Must Proclaim His Mercy
The world had never seen any love greater than this : The love by which Christ laid down his life for his friends ( Jn 15:13 )— and indeed , for his enemies ( Rom 5:6-11 )— revealed the true nature of love itself ( 1 Jn 3:16 ). The Cross is the fullest possible revelation of the nature of God , who is Love ( 1 Jn 4:8-10 ). It is this love that the Church celebrates and receives anew in her sacramental celebrations , calling forth from the faithful a response of endless thanksgiving ( eucharistia ): “ The Holy Spirit who thus awakens the memory of the Church then inspires thanksgiving and praise ” ( CCC , no . 1103 ).
The deeper our awareness of the magnitude of God ’ s unmerited mercy , manifested in creation but even more splendidly in the work of redemption , the greater will be our desire to rejoice in him with fellow believers and to proclaim his salvation to unbelievers . “ I will sing forever of the Lord ’ s kindness ; with my lips I will proclaim your faithfulness throughout the generations ” ( Ps 89:1 ).
The gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles repeatedly highlight joy and proclamation as the appropriate responses to the gift of salvation . “ The shepherds went back , glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen ” ( Lk 2:20a ); “ We cannot possibly refrain from speaking about what we have seen and heard ” ( Acts 4:20 ). In this way , the Sacred Liturgy makes its participants joyful witnesses of the good news of salvation .
Fr . Pierre Ingram , CC , is assistant professor of theology at Sacred Heart . shms . edu 5