I love you and so does Jesus our Brother, God our Father, and Holy Spirit our Breath.
Remembering Sen Sen candies from childhood. My grandmother in Cincinnati loved them and loved sharing them with us six kids. Tiny little licorice squares that popped with spice as one chewed them. They were known as the original breather fresheners. Currently out of production, there are some other found stories on line including the one linked to above. That is a fun story too, with Sen Sens being used to assist kids in learning not how to sin. The author talks about how she thought her grandmother and grandfather used Sen Sens to keep their attention and to keep them quiet in church. The author thought the name of the candy was Sin Sin for a while.
That play on words is what I had in mind last night before finding this Kansas story. After church this past Sunday, I was speaking with a fellow parishioner about some lively discussions that have been going on with regards to salvation. Does everyone go to heaven whether they are in communion with Christ on earth or not has been a church group discussion. Is it OK to just live a life of sin and assume Christ will forgive you?
My pastor has made the point that we don’t know if God might use some trump cards to bring to communion those who have lived lives pretty far afield from following God’s Guidelines. Jesus is The Judge. Of course Jesus says repeatedly that there will some that are with Him and some that will suffer eternally like the rich man who knows Lazarus.
Many people do not want to talk about sin and paint one as hateful if they broach the subject. Jesus shares that he wants to follow God’s Guidance and do God’s Will: John 4:34: Jesus said: ‘My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to complete his work.
I read some verses in Peter that jumped out at me recently with regards to this topic. In verse 6 below, Peter is addressing how people who have passed on already prior to Christ’s arrival on earth might be saved in spirit, in the afterlife. 1 Peter 4:1-8: Think of what Christ suffered in this life, and then arm yourselves with the same resolution that he had: anyone who in this life has bodily suffering has broken with sin, because for the rest of his life on earth he is not ruled by human passions but only by the will of God. You spent quite long enough in the past living the sort of life that pagans live, behaving indecently, giving way to your passions, drinking all the time, having wild parties and drunken orgies and degrading yourselves by following false gods. So people cannot understand why you no longer hurry off with them to join this flood which is rushing down to ruin, and then they begin to spread libels about you. They will have to answer for it in front of the judge who is ready to judge the living and the dead. And because he is their judge too, the dead had to be told the Good News as well, so that though, in their life on earth, they had been through the judgement that comes to all humanity, they might come to God’s life in the spirit. Everything will soon come to an end, so, to pray better, keep a calm and sober mind. Above all, never let your love for each other grow insincere, since love covers over many a sin.
And I am just noticing that in the last verse above, 8, the trump card of love covering over many a sin is trotted out.
This past Sunday’s Gospel was about the proud and pompous pharisee being happy he is so set and secure in his goody goodness versus the conniving, cheating, and thief of a tax collector over there. The tax collector pleads for forgiveness to God as a sinner. While the Pharisee is truly leading a good life and trying to do the good, kind things, he is getting too proud of himself, and too sure of his accomplishments. He is not seeing his pride has set in and his feeling that he does not need God. The tax collector on the other hand knows in spades that he needs God and God’s Forgiveness.
The point of the Gospel is to not compare yourself to others, relayed our pastor, Father Cole. Christ is the Judge.
It still is loving though to share with people God’s Guidance even when they don’t want to hear it. It’s good to get your odds upped as long as you can keep pride at bay. Christ truly does portray eternal suffering with no chance of relief as one possibility. I love the right nave at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston, Boston’s Basilica. The depiction of our next life there and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are phenomenal. My picture below.
So although Sen Sens are fun to talk about, Sin Sin is important to broach to help coach people to Communion with Christ and eternal joyful joy.
I love you and so does Jesus, God, and Holy Spirit along with Mother Mary, Saint Joseph, Saint Felix, Saint Helen, your Guardian Angel, all the Holy Angels, and all the Holy Saints.
