EDITORIAL

World needs a Year of Justice so that more souls may be saved

Posted

Last year Pope Francis declared a Year of Mercy in order to draw more people back to the Catholic faith. Perhaps the Holy Father might consider declaring a year of justice in order to make reparations for sins and re-introduce the practice of self-mortification through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The basic definition of justice is giving to another person what is their due or what is owed to them. Justice towards God is our worship of Him through prayer and thanksgiving.

The Church is in the business of saving souls and thus should implement all the tools at her disposal. Our society has forgotten the value of sacrifice and penance for the conversion of sinners and the sanctification of our own souls. You cannot have Mercy without Justice, because sins have temporal effects as well as being an offense against God.

The sacrament of confession illustrates the connection between mercy and justice. When the priest absolves you from your sins, you receive the mercy of God. The priest then gives you a penance to perform in order to make reparations for the damage or temporal punishments due to the sins that were committed. Doing penance fulfill the demands of justice. The souls in Purgatory are in a state of grace and therefore are called holy souls, but they suffer for the temporal punishments due to their sins, because they did not make proper satisfaction for the harm they caused. Our prayers, sacrifices and self-mortifications can be used to bring about the conversions of souls, make satisfaction for the souls in Purgatory and make reparations for sins against the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.