Guilt and Sorrow

I will … [acknowledge] my faults, imagining myself to be on the cross with the good thief, prostrate on the ground with David, fallen on the road to Damascus with Paul, asking for pardon, and grieving with Peter, with Magdalene, and with all the other sinners. (OOCC, X, p. 14; STA, 26)

A human person has the tendency to fail, but failure is not the end of his Christian living. The most significant dimension of Christian life consists of not being caught up in the failure, but rather in re-initiating a person’s life with God once again with the help of genuine sorrow. Sorrow is different from guilt. Guilt is a psychological state of mind which makes a person experience a sense of remorse for the act done, accompanied by a state of helplessness to get out of the situation. It is a childish reaction to the fact of a situation of failure. The guilt makes the sinner feel hopeless and makes his life meaningless. Judas Iscariot, the traitor of Jesus, experienced a sense of guilt for his failure which made him take his life. But sorrow is an adult reaction to the fact of failure. It involves three elements: the acknowledgement of one’s failure; the belief in the power of God and oneself to get out of the situation of the failure; and the action of taking the necessary steps to re-establish one’s relationship with God. St. Vincent Pallotti, like many other scripture persons such as Peter, Paul, David, the good thief and Mary Magdalene, understood the value of genuine sorrow which made them saints in spite of their limitations. He cultivated the penitential attitudes of these great scripture persons in his personal life, always acknowledging his failure before God.

Is it sorrow or guilt that dominates my Christian life? Do I learn from my failures? Do I practice a genuine spirit of penance? Do I cultivate the qualities of genuine sorrow? Do my failures help me to grow in the love of God?

You do not want penance … You aren’t interested in burned offerings before you on the altar. It is the broken spirit that you want… A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not ignore. (Ps. 51: 16-17)