Guilt
Conversion requires convincing of sin through the Holy Spirit’s intervention. “And when he comes he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement,” Jesus said (John 16:8). Hence conversion renews and perfects the interior judgment of conscience.
No one can recall all the sins of one’s life, so how can we confess and repent of all of our sins? The Council of Trent answered that question in the sixteenth century. Referring to sacramental confession, the Council stated that through confessing all the sins that one can honestly remember, a penitent implicitly places all of his or her sins before the Diving Mercy for pardon.
But to deliberately withhold any sin would be to present nothing to God for his forgiveness. It would show a lack of total sincerity in repentance and rejection of the lack of total sincerity in repentance and a rejection of the fullest outpouring of God’s mercy, which urges us to “be earnest, therefore, and repent” (Revelation 3:19). If one is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, it can’t be healed. Surgery can heal only if the diseased area is exposed.
A person who bakes a cake but forgets to mix in the eggs may produce a somewhat edible dessert but probably not a really delicious or attractive one. Likewise, a person who sincerely decides to turn away from sin and sinful habits might make a good initial start to a spiritual rehabilitation, but something of the recipe may be missing: namely, the completion of the metanoia, which requires not just turning away from sin, but also turning to the Lord.
Thus a real “change of heart” is not just a turning off the hell-bound road but a complete turnaround on that road. Your road of life may seem fine, but make sure you’re going in the right direction. Oprah Winfrey, an unexpected source, restated that principle in a rather whimsical fashion: “Failure is God’s way of saying, ‘Excuse me, you’re moving in the wrong direction.’”*
Think of the decision to repent as threefold not two fold. It’s not just a matter of choosing between sin and no sin but also a matter of seeking the Lord as the be-all and end-all of one’s very existence. On a ladder scale the choices would be sin (negative), no sin (neutral) and virtue (positive). To stop at the second rung of the ladder, no sin, would not be a complete metanoia. It would be radical justification but not complete justification which entails sanctification also.
The ladder analogy applies also to the norms for relating to one’s enemy: hatred (negative); lack of hatred (neutral) and love (positive) – meaning simply the desire for the “enemy’s” overall welfare. The third response is the one Jesus requires of Christians: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). It is the response that requires the Holy Spirit’s enabling.
In the simplest terms, turning from sin is a counterfeit form of repentance if it does not include the intention of turning to God (see CCC #1431, 2018). Like “the emperor’s new clothes,” something is missing in a casual diversion rather than radical turnaround from sin. If this is true for you, try shopping at Paul’s haberdashery: "Clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).
This subject of “counterfeit repentance” is a very important one, one that needs to be developed thoroughly and theologically. The complaint of the Lord in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge “ has a urgency in all areas of God’s word but especially in this topic of triggering the outpouring of Divine Mercy through repentance.
*Oprah Winfrey, quoted at tkdtutor.com
This excerpt is from the book The Awesome Mercy of God, by John H. Hampsch,C.M.F., originally published by Servant Books. It and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/visual materials can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408.