26 August, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations For Each Day

Two Paths to Heaven

1. The first road to Heaven is the way of innocence. There are some generous souls who preserve till the end of life their original baptismal purity. St. Aloysius Gonzaga never ceased to repent of two small faults for which he could hardly be held responsible since he committed them in the ignorance of early childhood. Having lived like an angel in human form, he died with a smile on his lips murmuring that he was happy to be going to Heaven at last.

In more recent times there was the lovable boy saint, Dominic Savio. On the day of his first Holy Communion he made the resolution “Death rather than sin,” a resolution to which he remained faithful throughout his innocent young life.

Throughout its history the Church could boast of many other members like these who reflected the absolute purity and perfection of its divine Head and Founder. It should be our desire to possess this innocence, so that we may be pure and holy in the sight of God and may remain always close to Him. Sin is ugly. It deprives us of God, our only true good, and makes us unhappy, because the sinner can never be at peace. It makes us restless and remorseful during life, and when we come to die, unless God’s mercy intervenes, it causes us to despair of salvation. Let us jealously guard our state of innocence, keeping it intact by fervent prayer and meditation.

2. If we have been unfortunate enough to have lost our baptismal innocence by falling into sin, we should not be discouraged. God’s mercy opens another way for us, the way of penance. “I have come,” Jesus tells us, “to call sinners, not the just.” (Mt. 9:13)

Our divine Redeemer foresaw in the Garden of Gethsemane all our sins and acts of ingratitude. Nevertheless, He offered Himself as a victim of expiation on our behalf, and shed His Precious Blood upon the Cross for our redemption. How would it be possible for Him to refuse to forgive us? How could He not long to save us in spite of our sins? Let us recall the consoling parables of the prodigal son and the lost sheep. If we feel that we fall into the category of prodigal sons or lost sheep, then let us turn to Jesus for forgiveness.

3. This second path to Heaven, however, demands sacrifice on our part. Our repentance must be practical and supernatural. It should lead us to confess our sins in the Sacrament of Penance and to regain God’s friendship in Holy Communion. After that our way must be one of self-mortification: “Unless you repent,” Jesus warns us, “you will all perish.” (Luke 13:5)

The first penance which we must perform is to offer to God all the physical and moral sufferings which are in store for us during life and at the hour of death. Then we must add our own voluntary acts of self-denial. The generosity of the Saints in this regard was rewarded by the lasting friendship of God. As for ourselves, we should remember that Jesus Himself has warned us that we shall be lost if we neglect to do penance. (Ibid.)