Throughout Lent, the monastic office of Lauds gives us a beautiful hymn whose first words are “Jam Christe sol iustitiae”. Its second and third stanzas give us a lot to think about especially with the present worldwide crisis upon us:
Thou Who dost give the accepted time,
Give too a heart that mourns for crime,
Let those by mercy now be cured
Whom loving kindness long endured.
Spare not, we pray, to send us here
Some penance kindly but severe,
So let Thy gift of pardoning grace
Our grievous sinfulness efface.
“Some penance kindly but severe” has been imposed on us all for the moment. Let us pray that many “hearts will now mourn their crime” and receive the “pardoning grace”.
For too many years now we have witnessed the “legal” massacre of the innocents, the brazen distortion of our God-given nature, the proliferation of impurity, the corruption of the youth, the irreverent treatment of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Most Holy Eucharist, to mention only the worst of our crimes.
May the present circumstances be an opportunity for many to repent, to come back home, and to be reconciled with God. The Church and the world are being put to the test, but it is only the beginning. Let’s make sure we take advantage of this “acceptable time”for it will pass and with it a golden opportunity to get ourselves back on track and save our souls.
