Reconciliation is not a thought, it is an experience. As an experience, it is lodged deep within the human heart,
and not only within the human heart, but within the Divine Heart as well. Were it a mere thought within the Divine Mind, mankind would never have had a Redeemer. As it is a mere thought within the minds of so many of today's generation, human hearts find no craving or need for a Redeemer.
Within the Divine Heart there are found both justice and mercy. When our first parents were tricked by satan and turned on God in favor of establishing an independent domain within their own human hearts, the justice of God exiled them to the vale of tears, sweat and blood. It ultimately turned out to be a felix culpa, a "happy fault" in as much as it obtained for them and for each one of us, a Redeemer through the mercy of God. Through the suffering and excruciating death of Jesus, God was reconciled to man, and man to God.
Reconciliation, as an experience, is based upon the fact that God, the Creator as well as God, the Loving Father, wishes order in the universe. Despite the fact that the world knows earthquakes, cats chasing mice, spiders catching flies, in the complete picture of creation, it all tends towards unity as conceived in the Divine Mind and experienced within the Divine Heart. In creating the angelic and human person, the loving Father left it up to each person endowed with a free will, to maintain a union with Himself and amongst one another. Lucifer and his legions chose to go their own way. For them, because of their angelic nature, there was no possibility for reconciliation; for human beings, because of their human nature, God has given and continues to give each an opportunity to choose to be in union with Himself. The nature of the angel is such that once a decision is made, it cannot be changed; the nature of the human being is such that, because he is created with a less perfect nature, not ever knowing the full consequences of his decisions, he is given unlimited opportunities to return to a union with God after he has estranged himself from Him.
Though God the Father in His mercy has sent to earth His Son as our Redeemer, it nonetheless remains with each individual human being to make his/her own way back to a union with Him. As a continued expression of His mercy, it is God Himself Who must give help to each, first to be put onto the path of reconciliation, and secondly, to receive necessary graces to be reconciled over and over again as each estrangement takes place. This mercy expresses itself through Jesus' establishing the Sacraments of Baptism and Reconciliation. These are direct aids to the attaining of a union with God. The other Sacraments help to maintain oneself in that union.
In giving human beings further assistance, Jesus, as Redeemer, explains to us that it is not possible for anyone of us to be reconciled to one another. This makes the fact of reconciliation more difficult. It is one thing to be reconciled with God, but quite another to be reconciled with every human being. On the other hand, it becomes much easier once one is reconciled with God, for once this is accomplished, there are additional graces given by Him to become reconciled with everyone else. Nonetheless, to live in harmony with every single person requires continued prayer in order to be able to arrive at, and maintain a humble and forgiving heart.
In next week's installment, I will continue in this vein and delve deeper into the meaning of reconciliation and what it costs us in setting aside our pride and allowing God to work in us.