“My son, even sin can become a stepping stone that brings us closer to God, that lifts us up, that leads us even more surely towards Him, as long as sin is followed by deep sorrow for having committed it, when we sincerely resolve not to repeat it, when we feel how badly we have acted against God’s mercy, when He is able to tear at the hardest fibres of our heart, bringing forth tears of repentance and love” (St. Pio of Pietrelcina).
Today, we hear once again from one of the wise men that God has given to the Church. Padre Pio reminds us that God can use even the greatest evil, sin, to bring us closer to Him.
This is how our Father is, and we would do well to listen attentively to Him.
It is the enemy of the human race who, after inducing us to sin, wants to keep us trapped in sin. Even after we have experienced a sincere conversion and resorted to the means offered by the Church to obtain forgiveness, he may continue to try to accuse us or steal our inner peace through the reproaches of others.
This is not the case with our Heavenly Father! As Padre Pio assures us, if we sincerely repent and feel sorrow for our sins, with which we have offended God’s love, our Father can use them to enter deeply into our soul and purify it with tears of holy contrition.
Without a doubt, we must fight with all our strength to avoid sin and take all necessary measures to avoid falling into it. However, if we do fail and our Father allows it, He is always there to lift us up. After we have repented and acknowledged our guilt, He will use our fall as a stepping stone to bring us closer to Him.