17/11/2022 | Reflection 1644 | Br Mathaious Vallikappen OP | Luke 19:41-44 || DMM

DO NOT DOWNLOAD THESE VIDEOS & RE-UPLOAD THEM ON OTHER CHANNELS. YOU CAN SHARE THE LINKS. Do support us to produce these videos. If you wish to support us in our mission to spread the Word of God, kindly write to us: [email protected] or drop a WhatsApp message: +91 7559384942 Like us on Facebook at   / indiandominicans   Website: www.dominicans.in Does God desire that we be punished for our sins and shortcomings? Does God take pleasure in our damnation? Justice is the virtue that allows us to treat people and things as it fits them. In simple words, to act justly means to give someone or something what they deserve. An act of injustice is done when we fail to do this. This is why every sin is an act of injustice, because every time we sin, we fail to treat someone or something as they deserve to be treated. As human beings created in the image and likeness of God, we all have an innate sense of justice. An innate sense which we have received from God, whose very nature it is to act with perfect justice. For example, if somebody were to cheat us, our sense of justice informs us that we have not been treated as we deserve. Nobody has to tell us this. We know it innately. Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus taught that what we do unto others, we do unto Jesus Himself. Therefore, every sin is ultimately an act of injustice against God Himself. Since God is perfectly good and innocent of all evil, an act of injustice against God is an act of injustice of infinite severity and magnitude. St. Paul says in Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Therefore, we have all sinned against God and we all deserve to be severely punished for our offences. All of us stand forever condemned before the perfect justice of God and we are incapable of making reparation for our offences. We all deserve death. But it is from this helpless condition that God saves us through Jesus Christ. God Himself took human form and suffered punishment for our sins on the cross so that we can be freed from punishment. Isaiah 53:5 says “He was wounded for our sins, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was laid the punishment that made us whole, and by his wounds we are healed.” If God wanted us to be punished and damned, He would not have sent His Son to save us. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This is the mercy of God. But it is up to us whether to accept His mercy or not. The Lord places before us His Mercy and His Justice. If we reject His mercy, then we are choosing His justice. In today’s Gospel, we find Jesus weeping looking at Jerusalem, because the people of Israel repeatedly rejected the mercy of God and have to face God’s judgement for their sins. My dear brothers and sisters, the Lord weeps for each of us when we reject His mercy. It is not His desire that we should be punished for our sins but that we repent and be saved by His grace. If we reject His mercy, there is no other way for us to stand justified before God and He will have no other choice than to give us what we rightly deserve for our sins. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, let us always be thankful to God for what He has done for us. In our journey towards holiness, if we ever fall into sin, let us immediately repent and accept the mercy that He offers us. There is greater joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine who have no need of repentance. Amen. #dominicanmediamission #DOMINICANFRIARSINDIA