Because Jesus has forgiven us, we need to forgive ourselves. None of us are greater than God. None of us are more powerful than God; yet somehow, we think that we cannot forgive ourselves for the idiocies of our sins. We get older and come to a deeper realization of the extent of our sins, the results of our actions. We feel a deep disgust within ourselves when we consider how our actions have affected another person’s life, or many people’s lives. But Jesus has forgiven us. He has forgiven even those results of our sins that we were not fully aware of when we sought His Mercy, perhaps many years ago. The Work of the Son frees us from the torments of our guilt. He prevents us from living in our muddled past. Indeed, if we live in the past, we will miss the present and have no future. But if we realize that we have been forgiven, then our focus is on serving God now, and our joy is knowing that we can serve Him tomorrow. The third person of The Trinity is the New Advocate, the Holy Spirit. Jesus was very clear that He needed to return to the Father so that the Father and Son could send the Holy Spirit. Last week, on Pentecost Sunday, I was struck with the realization that it is our possession of the Holy Spirit that allows us to remain in the presence of God. “Know that I am with you always,” Jesus says in Matthew 28:20. God’s continual presence in our lives is the Work of the Holy Spirit. We are not alone. We will never be alone. The Spirit of the Father and the Son has been given to us. Whatever we do, we do it with meaning and purpose when we do it with the power of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing that we cannot do when we do it in union with the Spirit of God. When St. Paul wrote in Philippians 7:14, “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me,” he was referring to the spiritual life. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He who loves us, He who forgives us, and He who empowers us. We are baptized into the Trinity, into the intimate Life of God.
