Confessions of a miserable person

I think that the most important and distinctive sign of our being Christian is certainly in recognizing that we are miserables, poor sinners. If one does not understand this and does not accept this, I think it is far from the authentic Christian spirit. There are various things that I disagree with the actions of Pope Francis but one I always like a lot: when he was asked how he would define himself he has said “I am a sinner.” Here it is, this awareness should constantly accompany us, should be the first of our thoughts when we judge others. I have always been horrified to see those who want to give a picture of themselves as upright Christians, without fear and without reproach. I always feel a great falsehood in this attitude.

We must learn to embrace our weakness and to distinguish between the sins of weakness and those with mischief. The latter are serious, the first remain sins but I am convinced that God judges them with a special mercy. Paolo Scquizzato in his “In Praise of imperfect life,” has said so: “On the cross God has lost but it was the biggest win. This is our certainty and our hope. Even if we know the evil and it seems to win, even if we are crushed by sin and bounds, the Word that lives in us, Christ, is victorious. Because love can not die. Jesus tells us that it is only because you lose that you can win”. We also are constantly hanging on this cross, always defeated but still potentially victorious.