The Face of Mercy / Daniel Conway

Pope Francis says sin separates us from God and each other

Have you ever wondered why every Mass begins with prayers that focus on our sinfulness and God’s mercy? Pope Francis says that it’s because sin has separated us from God and our neighbor. To enter fully into the Eucharist, we must first acknowledge our sins, and then ask God to restore us to right relations with him and each other.

“Sin severs the relationship with God and severs the relationship with our brothers, the relationship with family, with society, with the community,” the pope said during his first general audience of the new year. Sin is always divisive. It always severs, separates and divides.

At the beginning of Mass, we dispose ourselves “to worthily celebrate the holy mysteries, recognizing our sins before God and our brothers, recognizing that we are sinners.”

The Confiteor (general confession) that is included in the penitential rite as an option calls our attention to sins that we have committed in thoughts, words and actions. But it also acknowledges our sins of omission, our failure to act or speak in situations that require our positive engagement.

“We often feel good because—let’s say—‘I did not hurt anyone,’ ” the pope said. “In reality, it is not enough not to harm our neighbor, we need to choose to do good, seizing the occasions for giving positive testimony that we are disciples of Jesus.”

When we confess to both God and our brothers and sisters that we are sinners, it helps us to understand how sin not only separates us from God, but also from each other, the pope said. Then, when we make the gesture of beating our breast, repeating the words “through my fault” three times, this also reminds us that we have sinned by our own responsibility and no one else’s.

Out of fear or shame, sometimes we want to accuse others for our sin, Pope Francis said, but it is good to always confess our sins “with sincerity.” That is, to make an honest confession of our responsibility for what we’ve done or failed to do—and not to blame others or minimize the severity of our sinfulness.

After this confession of sin, Pope Francis continued, we then turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints and angels to help us on the path toward full communion with God, “when sin will be definitively annihilated.”

Turning to Mary—who like her son was without sin, and to the saints and angels, who know our struggles and are close to God—helps us bear the burdens associated with our guilt. It helps us overcome the bitter loneliness that so often accompanies the secret sins we carry within us daily.

Pope Francis is particularly strong on the importance of devotion to Mary, which he says is not an option but an obligation for Christians. “Devotion to Mary is not spiritual etiquette,” the pope said in his homily on New Year’s Day, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. “It is a requirement of Christian life.”

He went on to say that the Church needs a mother’s heart—one which knows how to keep the tender love of God, and to feel the heartbeat of all around us—in order to prevent Christianity from become merely an idea or doctrine.

Mary was often silent, pondering God’s mysterious ways in her heart. Pope Francis believes that we have much to learn from Mary’s silence. She can teach us to be calm in the face of difficulties or confusion. And she can help us distance ourselves from the noise and distractions of daily life—“the blare of commercials, the streams of empty words, and the overpowering waves of empty chatter and loud shouting.”

When we confess our sins at the beginning of Mass, we recollect ourselves, removing ourselves from the realm of sin and evil and placing our minds and hearts in the loving care of Mary and all the angels and saints. This ought to be a healing moment where the separation that exists between us and God, and the isolation we feel from our neighbors, can be mended.

As Pope Francis says, sin is always divisive. It always severs, separates and divides. But God’s grace—shown most powerfully in the Blessed Virgin Mary—is stronger than sin. No matter how grave the wounds, God’s love and mercy are always ready to heal us and restore us to full communion with God and our neighbors.
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †