A Church for Sinners.
It has been noted on occasion that the Church is not for perfect people but for sinners who wish to repent. The Church is based on a 2000 year tradition of life in Jesus Christ. But just because we recognise the founding fathers as saints doesn’t mean they weren’t sinners. We speak of saints and sinners as opposites but to err is human and saints are still human aren’t they.
After all St. Peter denied Christ…yet he was the one chosen by Christ to lead the Church. St. Paul persecuted Christians before setting out to spread the ‘Good news’ more than any other before or since. St. Augustine, on who’s theology much of the Church’s is now based, famously prayed for the gift of chastity before adding ‘but not yet’.
The Church teaches the will of God yet preaches the good news that is God’s forgiveness. It has been said that no-one stays true to every rule of the Church but what makes them Catholic is their willingness to try.
I don’t know whether I agree with all of this but as Martin Newland wrote in ‘The Irish Catholic’: “God loves the desperate woman who feels she has no choice but to abort, but this does not elevate abortion to the status of a human right or mitigate its horror.”
Faith in Jesus in the Church is to journey through imperfection to the glory of God. The Church shows us God’s will…it shows us perfection…but I don’t think it expects it of us…….just that we try with all our hearts and souls for love of God.
Thursday, July 26th, 2007 and is filed under Rome.
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