Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
(Joel 1:13-15.2:1-2; Luke 11:15-26)
Traditionally it has been said that a penitent must have “firm
purpose of amendment” to have his or her sins forgiven. This phrase means more than a vague intention
not to commit the sin confessed again.
It requires a commitment to develop virtue which makes the sin itself
undesirable. Jesus has purpose of amendment in mind in the last verses of today’s
gospel.
Jesus has just performed an exorcism. Some of those present suggest that Jesus can
perform such acts because he has a personal relationship with Beelzebub, the
prince of demons. Jesus refutes that
claim and goes on to speak, albeit obliquely, of the need to replace the
expelled spirit with the Holy Spirit. This
is to have firm purpose of amendment If this does not happen, the evil spirit
is likely to come back reenergized.
We develop virtue by not associating with the people or
things that caused us to sin in the first place. It is also important to pray for God’s
assistance. Finally, we must practice
ways that oppose the wrong that we did.
If our sin is gossip, for example, we might practice saying positive
things about others.
