As Far as East is From West

Special note: This article was completed and submitted when this story broke online. Michael Voris, the head of the Church Militant apostolate, has been very outspoken about the scandal that has been taking place in the New York Archdiocese concerning the cover up of both homosexual life style by certain priests but also financial abuses allegedly occurring there. Now it has been claimed that someone in the Archdiocese was going to release details of Michael’s past life prior to his reversion to the Church. As a result Michael has posted this video on the Church Militant website making a public confession of those past sins. Why this should not be necessary is the subject of this article.

One of the responses to the article “Crossing the Line” got me thinking about the subject of Confession and Penance. The article deals with the six forgivable sins against the Holy Spirit as well as the Unforgivable Sin. The person made the statement “I can say I haven't crossed that line, but seeing myself for how I really am I'm easily guilty of the other six.” My reply to her was that is what the Sacrament of Reconciliation is for and why it’s one of the greatest gifts that God gave to the Church. But I wonder if how we view ourselves after Confession lines up with how God views us according to Scripture and the teaching of the Church?

Some folks seem to think that God is keeping a sin tally book in Heaven and even after Confession and Penance the record still remains so that when we fall again God goes, “Ah Ha! See? You said you were sorry but you did it again!” Such a notion couldn’t possibly further from the Truth. The only Books in Heaven are “The Lamb’s Book of Life” and the “Book of Our Works” … what we have done that merits reward are recorded there and not our sins. Salvation or damnation comes from having our names in the Book of Life or having them blotted out. See Revelation 3:5, 20:11-15

Forgive and Forget

This is a common phrase heard every day among people when someone has done evil toward us. The problem is that for the person only relying on basic human nature this is not possible. In fact, you hear offended persons say all the time, “I’ll forgive, but I’ll never forget.” But with God all things are possible. God forgives AND forgets… and with His help so can we. WHAT??? Can I back this up from the teachings of the Church? Absolutely. Let’s start off with a recent statement by His Holiness, Pope Francis:

“When we confess our sins and we truly say, “I have sinned in this”, the Lord forgets, and so we have no right not to forget, because otherwise we would run the risk of the Lord not forgetting our sins. That is a danger.” Excerpt from Pope Francis Press Conference on the Papal Return Flight from Rio Sunday, 28 July 2013 (full text here)

This shouldn’t come as any surprise to anyone who prays the “Our Father” at every Mass, in every decade of the Rosary and in the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The Lord very clearly tied our ability to forgive to our own forgiveness in Heaven. The fact that God forgets our sins is clearly in view in many other Scriptures on the subject.

What Do the Scriptures say?

The very title of this article is taken from one of the Old Testament verses about God’s forgiveness. “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12) This isn’t just a “coast to coast” concept but literally like two ends of a straight line stretching to infinity. That’s how far God removes our sin when we make use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation… from one end of infinity to the other.

A common phrase you hear a lot from Evangelical Christians is “God throws our sins into a sea of forgetfulness never to be remembered.” Don’t hunt for that exact phrase in the Scriptures because you won’t find it. It’s one of those concepts that has taken several verses and tied them together to make an easy to remember expression. The “depth of the sea” part comes from Micah 7:18-19 and the forgetfulness part comes from Hebrews 10:16-17 (Saint Paul is quoting from Jeremiah 31 there).

The Lord Jesus established a Church and gave to the Apostles the authority to forgive sins. He told the Apostles in John 20:23, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.” That this was passed on to those who followed them is supported by Saint Paul’s words to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 where he tells them that God “…gave us the ministry of reconciliation” and also that God entrusted this ministry to them.

What does the Church Teach?

The Baltimore Catechism, as well as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, affirms the clear teaching of Scripture on this matter:

382. What are the effects of the sacrament of Penance, worthily received?

The effects of the sacrament of Penance, worthily received, are:

1. the restoration or increase of sanctifying grace; the forgiveness of sins;
2. the remission of the eternal punishment, if necessary, and also of part, at least, of the temporal punishment, due to our sins;
3. the help to avoid sin in future;
4. the restoration of the merits of our good works if they have been lost by mortal sin.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church agrees in Section IX paragraphs 1468-1470, which you can read on that link.

Conclusion

We have the promise of God given by Saint John in 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” and also through the prophet Isaiah in Chapter 1 verse 18: ”Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Saint Paul said, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21). With this the rest of Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the teaching Magisterium of the Church agree. Stand firm upon that three legged stool!!

Any other view of ourselves post Reconciliation doesn’t come from God but from Satan. When he tries to remind you of your past to rob you of the joy of your salvation in Christ and His Church remind him of his FUTURE!

“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)