Fr. Dwight LongeneckerIndeed, it more often presents itself in the form of a well mannered, well spoken, well educated, well off, well connected and easy to admire person.
The reason I say this sin is unforgivable is not because God cannot forgive it, but because the person will not repent, and they will not repent because they genuinely, honestly don’t believe they have anything to repent of. They think they’re good. They really believe the problems are someone else’s fault. They think they’re okay and the little bad things they do are “just being human”.
This sin is unforgivable because forgiveness is never asked for, and forgiveness (by its very nature) cannot be granted unless the person who needs it asks for it.
Think about it. You throw a ball and break my window because you’re mad at me. I am ready to forgive. In fact I reach out to you to offer forgiveness. But if you don’t admit your wrongdoing then you can’t receive the forgiveness because you haven’t imagined that you need it.
When you stop to think about it this stands everything on its head.
Who, therefore, are the unforgiven? Maybe it’s not all the prostitutes and porn addicts and thieves and criminals. Maybe it’s all the respectable people. Maybe it’s all the outwardly religious people. It’s all the “nice” people, the people with perfect gardens, perfect jobs, perfect families, perfect bank accounts, perfect everything.
Now read the gospels again and isn’t this precisely the core of Jesus actions and interactions? He is constantly berating the religious leaders for their pride and ignorance of their real need of God while he is welcoming with open arms the outcasts, the sinners, the sick, the poor and the needy.
Now we are at the heart of mercy. Mercy is the action of God towards all those who cry out for his love, cry out for his healing, cry out for his forgiveness.
The Divine Mercy is there for all of us in a constant stream of love and forgiveness…
…and this mercy is for all but those who do not think they need it.
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