Acts 3:13-15,17-19; 1 John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48
At the center of today's liturgy of the word is the proclamation of "repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Luke 24:47). This is the commission of the risen Jesus to the Church. That is also the content of Saint Peter’s sermon in the first reading. First, he shows the sin of the people. They “denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to” them (Acts 3:14). Then he calls them to conversion: "Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away” (Acts 3:19).
Sin is a tragedy. God created man upright and for good works, but man willingly turned away from uprightness towards wickedness. Sin, like a disease, brought death upon the face of the earth and destroys life within us. “Sin then is, a fearful evil, but not incurable; fearful for him who clings to it, but easy of cure for him who by repentance puts it from him” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem). Therefore, “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” (CCC, 982).
Someone will say: ‘I have committed many sins in my life. Can there still be a chance for me to be set free?' “There is no one, however wicked and guilty, who may not confidently hope for forgiveness, provided his repentance is honest” (Roman Catechism in CCC, 982). God is rich in mercy, therefore "though your sins may be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Is. 1:18). Say like David, "I will confess my transgressions," and the Lord will forgive your sins (Ps. 32:5). A great example of this is Bartolo Longo (1841-1926). He was an Italian, raised in a Catholic family who, in his youth, left the Church and became a priest in a satanic cult. However, on October 26, 1980, Pope Saint John Paul II proclaimed him blessed. How did it happen? One day, Bartolo met a priest who assured him that God's mercy is greater than his sins. Blessed Bartolo Longo, after his conversion, became an apostle of the Holy Rosary.
The Holy Scriptures testify to God's merciful love for us. What did God do after Adam's sin? He promised him a Savior (Gen. 3:15). Then, in the days of Moses, God forgave Aaron and the entire people the sin of idolatry (Ex. 32:32), and in the time of Joshua, he took pity on the harlot Rahab, for she recognized the God of Israel (Josh. 2:9-13). David, the greatest king of Israel, was forgiven the sin of adultery and striking down Uriah with the swords of the Ammonites because he acknowledged his guilt (2 Sam. 11:1-12:13). Manasseh, the greatest sinner among the kings of Judah, was also forgiven his terrible sins when in Babylonian captivity he humbled himself and begged for God's mercy (2 Chron. 33:1-20).
Repentance has great power. Saint Peter, who in today's sermon calls to repentance, knew it from experience. Did he not deny his Lord three times? And yet the tears of repentance blotted his sin away. Announcing the news of Christ’s resurrection the angel said to the women: “Go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He [the risen Jesus] is going ahead of you into Galilee” (Mk 16:7). How true are the words of apostle John: "My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins and not for our sins only, but also for those of the whole world "(1 John 2:1-2). Amen.