Our Sin Doesn't Make Us Unlovable, It Makes Us Lovable!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

All people have two things in common; everyone sins, and everyone is broken. Considering this is true for all people, Jesus and Mary excluded, we should have a great sense of hope! Now that may sound a little weird. Why should we have hope because everyone sins and everyone is broken? How can that be comforting? Simple. That means that everyone in our lives we think are much holier than us, all the saints before us, and everyone we know shares in our imperfections and struggles. That means if the Lord desires and has used the saints and many before us to change the world, He can use us too, in and through our brokenness!

A few months ago, I was struggling with guilt and shame, thinking the Lord could never use me because of something I had done more than a year before. I asked him, “How could you ever use me? I messed up too big.” And clear as day I heard Him say to my heart, “Your sin can’t make you unlovable. I will always love you. Is that not enough for you?”

He had shown me how loved I was by Him, yet I was still believing the lies that the Father's love and mercy wasn’t enough. Then He helped me realize something. Our sin doesn’t make us unlovable. Rather, it provides another opportunity for us to encounter God's love. Think about that. It doesn’t mean that we are free to go sin all we want with the mindset of, “Oh, God can love me more if I sin more.” No, it means that when we sin, we have an opportunity to encounter His love and mercy, especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

The Lord has used some very broken people to help change the world and make His love known. Jesus called the broken and outcasts of His time to be His closest friends. He has called very broken people to serve Him and share the Gospel. Don’t believe me? Here are some examples.

St. Paul. St. Paul, as Saul, persecuted and murdered Christians for years of his life. Despite this, the Lord called him to spread the Gospel! He traveled all over the world, preaching, writing letters, and evangelizing. The man wrote more than half of the books in the New Testament!

St. Augustine of Hippo. St. Augustine spent many years indulging in sin and drunkenness. After his conversion, he not only became a priest, but a Bishop. He would go on to be named as a Doctor of the Catholic Church and his writings have impacted the area of philosophy and literature ever since.

St. Peter. St. Peter doubted the Lord as he walked on water, fell asleep in the garden on Holy Thursday, and denied Christ three times, all before Christ’s passion and death. Yet, Peter was chosen by the Lord to be the first pope! While he was pope, Peter tried to flee Rome to escape persecution, and Jesus appeared, instructing him to return to Rome. In addition he has two books in the New Testament.

St. Mary Magdalene. In scripture it is reported that Jesus cast out seven demons that were possessing St. Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9). Not only did He free her from that bondage, He befriended her and she was the first one to see the Resurrected Lord!

All four of these people were sinners and they were all broken. But through God’s love and grace, they were redeemed! They didn’t do anything to earn the grace and mercy they received from God, they surrendered to Him, and repented. Their acts of surrendering and repenting, choosing to live for Christ, allowed the Lord to love them in their brokenness and call them to greater things.

If we want to change the world and live for Christ, we need to do the same thing! Let us ask for forgiveness, repent, do penance, and let the Lord work through us, that we might win the world and all souls for the Kingdom of God!

It isn’t enough to just say sorry and continue feeling bad for ourselves. We need to receive mercy and live with God’s grace! But mercy isn’t just handed out. As Robert Cardinal Sarah says, “Don’t deceive people with the word Mercy. God forgives sins only if we repent of them.” Remember, God loves us so much that He meets us where we are; but, He loves us too much to leave us there. You are Called to be loved by the Lord as He meets you where you are. You are “Called To Be Broken”!

With Love, your brother in Christ,

Jesse Iamarino

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