Only a god could take on his shoulders the sins of the world. Only a god could die for all the people who ever existed in this world, and, bar one chosen woman, sinned. Mankind has seen myths of such a sacrifice in the many stories of the gods who do great feats for men, but the myths point to the reality of this liturgical week.
The consequences of sin, individual and corporate is that the God-Man, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity allowed Himself to suffer and die for each one of us, for all of us.
Rarely do priests speak of the consequences of sin. Rarely are the consequences of sins discussed among Catholics.
When I sin, even if the sin is "private", such as an unkind or critical thought, I harm not only the Church of God, but the entire world.
My lack of holiness spreads out into the corporate responsibility of all men and women of either choosing good or choosing evil.
I have shared on this blog before the encounter with God I had concerning one venial sin.
Consequences of venial sin and consequences of mortal sin affect each person we meet and even those we never meet.
My selfishness causes a child not to have supper. My omission of kindness causes a person to doubt Christianity. My inattention in prayer weakens the Church Militant. My passing up of joining in the suffering of Christ willingly by mortification undermines God's plan for a new creation on earth.
Our free will is totally sacred to God. He will not interfere with our will, but gives us grace to respond. We can say yes, or no.
The individualization of religion, the subjectivity of both secularism and Protestantism have infiltrated the minds of Catholics to the point where most Catholics cannot see how their lives affect the entire Church.
What I do matters. Everything we do has consequences for good or for evil--everything.
Mary could have said no in Nazareth. Christ could have said no in Gethsemane.
Eve said no to Adam's authority. Adam said no to God.
Sin has consequences....But, Christ took those consequences onto Himself.
Pray that God shows you both justice and mercy. Pray you see the consequences now, while you still have time to repent. When one comes to understand consequences as seen by the Eyes of God, one can say of the Passion and Death of Christ, "I caused this."
