Sacrament of Penance by Nicolas
Poussin
WEDNESDAY OF SEXAGESIMA WEEK
O
God of infinite justice! we have sinned; we have abused the life Thou hast given
us: and when we read, in Thy Scriptures, how Thine anger chastised the sinners
of former days, we are forced to acknowledge, that we have deserved to be
treated in like manner. We have the happiness to be Christians and children of
Thy Church; the light of faith, and the power of Thy grace, have brought us
once more into Thy friendship; but how can we forget that we were once Thy
enemies? And are we so deeply rooted in virtue, that we can promise ourselves
perseverance in it to the end. Pierce, O Lord! pierce my flesh with Thy fear.
Man’s heart is hard, and unless it fear Thy sovereign Majesty, it may again
offend Thee.
We are penetrated with fear, when we
remember that Thou didst bury the world and destroy mankind by the waters of
the deluge; for we learn by this, how Thy patience and long-suffering may be changed
into inexorable anger. Thou art just, O Lord! and who shall presume to take
scandal, or to murmur, when Thy wrath is enkindled against sinners?
We have defied Thy justice, we have braved Thine
anger; for, though Thou hast told us that Thou wilt never more destroy sinners
by a deluge of water, yet we know that Thou hast created, in Thy hatred for sin,
a fire, which shall eternally prey on them that depart this life without being first
reconciled with Thy offended Majesty.
O wonderful dignity of our human nature!
We cannot be indifferent towards that infinite Being that created us: we must be
His friends or His enemies!
It could not have been otherwise. He gave us understanding and free-will: we
know what is good and what is evil, and we must choose the one or the other: we
cannot remain neutral. If we choose good, God turns towards us and loves us; if
evil, we separate from Him, who is our sovereign Good. But, whereas He bears
most tender mercy towards this frail creature whom He created out of pure love,
and because He wills that all men should be saved, He waits with patience for
the sinner to return to Him, and, in countless ways, draws his heart to repentance.
But woe to him that obeys not the divine
call, when that call is the last! Then justice takes the place of mercy, and revelation
tells us how fearful a thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God.
Let us, then, flee from the wrath to come, by making our peace with the God we
have offended. If we be already restored to grace, let us walk in His fear,
until love shall have grown strong enough in our hearts to make us run the way
of the commandments.
The following prayer is from the Mozarabic breviary of
the Gothic Church of Spain.
ORATIO
(In
capite jejunii.)
Turn
away thy face from our sins, O Lord, and blot out all our iniquities. Take from
thine eyes the guilt of our sinful pleasures, and mercifully incline thine ear
to our confession. Have mercy, we beseech thee, upon us thy suppliants, O thou
that lookest with pity on them that are in affliction,
and givest to the disconsolate a penitent heart, that so they may praise thy
name. The publican who stood afar off and struck his breast, found forgiveness
by this alone, that he confessed his sin; do thou, in like manner, mercifully
hear us sinners: and as thou didst give to him the fruit his prayer deserved,
so also vouchsafe to grant unto us, thy suppliant unworthy servants, the pardon
of our sins. Amen.
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