The faith of our fathers - Carmel Apologetics

"THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE. 387nounces over her the saving words of absolution.The very demons recognized Jesus as the enemy ofsin, for they dreaded His approach, knowing, asthey did, that He would drive them out of thebodies of men.And indeed our Lord makes the healing of thebody secondary to the healing of the soul. Andwhen He delivers the body from its distempers,His object is to win the confidence of the spectatorsby compelling them to recognizeHim as the soul sPhysician. For instance: He says to the palsied1man, "Thy sins are forgiven."The scribes are atonce offended at our Saviour for presuming to forgive sins. He replies, in substance If you do not:believe My words, believe My acts and He at once;heals the man of his disease. And after he hadcured the man that had been languishing for thirtyeightyears, He whispered to him this gentle admonition, Sin no more, lest some worse thing mayhappen to thee." 2As much as our spiritual substance excels thisflesh which surrounds it, so much more did ourSaviour value the resurrection of a soul from thegrave of sin than the resurrection of the body fromthe grave of death. Hence St. Augustine pointedlyremarks that, while the Gospel relates only threeresurrections of the body, our Lord, during Hismortal life, raised thousands of souls to the life ofgrace.1Matt Lr. 2.*John v. 14