By Antonia Moffat
Reparation is about the mercy and compassion of God. It is what heals the wounds of sin and division. The Loving Heart of the Father, with arms outstretched, longs to embrace the beleaguered & desolate faithful of Ireland.
God wants to heal Ireland of the culture of death, rebellion and apostasy that prevails, and to save us from the misery and death. The cry of God’s heart is: O Ireland when will you return to your God who loves you and holds you – land once so faithful and full of faith?
We need to go to Confession and rediscover what the Sacrament of Confession means and how to approach it. Sin is any willful thought, desire, word, action or omission forbidden by the law of God. It inflicts wounds not only on the sinner but also on one’s neighbour and the whole Church. When we confess our sins we are forgiven – but the effects of our sinfulness remain, especially on those we have hurt.
Reparation prayer atones for those effects and brings healing to those we have hurt. Archbishop Fulton Sheen gave a powerful analogy of reparation prayer. He showed the people a wood block with a nail in it. He told them that when they confess their sins, the sin is forgiven and forgotten by God. The nail pulled out is the sin gone! Yet what remains is the hole caused by the nail or the sins i.e. the effects of our sinfulness on others & the Church. Acts of Reparation through sacrifice and penance is what brings healing and prevents the sins or scandals from perpetuating! The hole is like a putrid wound. If you stick a sticking plaster on top of it, it will continue to fester and in the end you die of septicemia! Reparation is how you clean the wound!
Ireland as a Nation is facing the greatest humiliation and shame since time began. The Irish people have themselves voted in same sex marriage and abortion. No longer is there any protection for the unborn child. The natural law and the commandments of God have been stamped upon by a resounding majority of Irish people. This great apostasy and rebellion indicates that the Irish Church is riddled with a far-reaching and ingrained poisonous, & putrid sickness, which may take centuries to repair and heal.
The spiritual battle for the soul of what was once catholic Ireland is raging unabated and the enemies of Christianity are having a jamboree of mocking triumph. Satan and his demons are having a field day because they have a right to! Every access point of attack is open against the Irish Church because of the failure to humbly repent. Even the plea of Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 to repent went unheard and hence the festering wound of child sexual abuse has called down disaster on the Church.
The Antidote is Penance and Reparation
God the Father again speaks to us in these eternal and timely words, ‘If my people who bear my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my presence and turn from their wicked ways, I myself will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and restore their land…’(2 Chron. 7v14)
The Irish Church needs to fall on its knees before The Cross in solemn, humble confession of sin. Reparation will begin to calm the screaming, rageful battlefield of chaos, recriminations, judgments and rebellion.
A great tsunami of God’s mercy and grace will follow as this begins.
The call to confession of sin, repentance & reparation must be strong, ongoing and relentless. It must begin with the bishops, priests, religious & then laity.
HOPE dawns for the Irish Church!
The shame of the Irish Church is paraded for all to see … yet the same sickness pervades everywhere. God is calling the Irish Church to Penance so that it may once again be a light to the Nations. For the once isle of St. Patrick is to lead us all to Penance!
“Ecce Cruces Domini, augite pastes adverse – Behold the Cross of the Lord, flee you enemy powers!”