What does sin mean for me today? Does it have any resonance in my life and my relationships or decisions? And, grace? This passage reminds us that there are certain things in life – the most important one without doubt – which we cannot achieve by ourselves and which in turn will never be achieved without our freedom and will.
Many say that modern man has lost the sense of sin and faith in God. “If God does not exist, everything is permitted”, others will say. And some will think, “let us increase the rules and penances, and in this way they will fear God and grow in faith”. But, how little we talk about grace! Can we feel real pain for a bad action and perceive its negative consequences? Can you regret a failure of the truth if you don’t know the person who is harmed by it? How distinct sound words like “forgiveness”, “fault”, and “pain” when there is love! God´s love for us is the grace, his grace, his strength, his gentle breeze, that allows us to breathe his Spirit.
“Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more”, says Paul (Rm 5.20). Perhaps, if we would put all our efforts into helping others to experience the grace of God, there would be more desire for change, more repudiation of sin. Thinking of myself: Do I spend more time in my prayer feeling bad about my faults or savouring the grace and the love that God has?
Mary is “full of grace”. She experienced in her own flesh what is an overabundance of God fertilizing her own life, and of Claret also and many other saints. That’s why they were capable of great things. That is why they commend themselves to her and offer their whole life, leaving nothing of themselves, knowing that love and grace can do much more than the sin and evil of the world.