00:00How are you, my dear brothers and sisters? It's so nice to be with you again in what will be our last chapter of the first season of Knowing to Love.
00:12We have been delving deeper into topics that help us to know and love God and our church more.
00:19And well, we want to end this season with a very interesting question from Benjamin from Catalonia in Spain.
00:27Our gospel reaches even there, and they have written us this interesting question.
00:33Our brother Benjamin says.
00:36Dear Father Ernesto, in order to receive your insightful and profound comments through Knowing to Love,
00:44I would like to share a personal concern that I have always had, and it is as follows.
00:50Being in mortal sin, I felt the need to offer a prayer to the Lord,
00:54whether it be repentance, praise, or a petition combined with one of the former.
01:01However, at that moment an inner struggle began within me as to whether my prayer would be valid,
01:07That is, whether God will hear me, given my condition at that time.
01:13On several occasions I have given up on doing so, even though I felt the need to return to the Lord.
01:18Could you please advise me on this?
01:22May the Lord bless him abundantly.
01:24This message reaches you free of charge, thanks to the financial contributions of our subscribers.
01:48To be part of this great work of evangelization, we will appreciate any contribution that comes from your heart.
01:55And we remind you that this and many more teachings, in addition to courses and podcasts,
02:01You can find them at our Online Evangelization Center, www.evangelizacion.mx.
02:10Let's continue with our teaching today with Father Ernesto María Caro.
02:14My dear Benjamin, the first thing I want to tell you are the words of the Lord.
02:24It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick.
02:29With this, Jesus declares that it is precisely in the state of sin that we most need God and prayer.
02:36We must always remember that, on the one hand, prayer is the strength of the inner life,
02:42But it is also a source of consolation and an encounter with God's mercy.
02:48The greatest saints have also been great sinners,
02:51that many times, after coming away comforted from their prayer, they have made the decision never to sin again.
03:00It is in that sincere prayer, with a repentant heart,
03:05This is where the impulse of sacramental reconciliation comes from, which makes us return to grace.
03:10One of the devil's greatest traps is to convince us that the misery of sin separates us from God.
03:20Always remember that God detests sin, for it is contrary to love, but He deeply loves the sinner.
03:28On the other hand, we must remove from our vocabulary and from our minds the saying,
03:33is valid or not for God, for God who is Father.
03:38Every approach to him is not measured in terms of validity, but of love.
03:44Could you even think of having a dialogue with your dad that wasn't valid?
03:50It's absurd.
03:52They may disagree when they talk,
03:54But surely if there has been love and openness, both will have been enriched.
04:01Let us pray as the Lord says, so that we do not fall into temptation, so that we do not sin.
04:07But if we sin, we must know that we have a God full of love and mercy.
04:12who is waiting for us in prayer to strengthen and comfort us,
04:17and in the sacrament of reconciliation to forgive one another.
04:21It is true that we must do our best.
04:25and to use the tools that Jesus has shown us.
04:28to overcome our weaknesses, such as fasting and prayer.
04:33But you should know that God will always be open to your love.
04:36and to reconcile you with Him.
04:40Remember that Jesus himself told us that there is more joy over one sinner who repents.
04:45that for 99 who do not need repentance.
04:49Never forget that the fundamental characteristic of our loving God
04:54It is mercy that is always open to the sinner.
04:59So, even if you try to avoid sin,
05:04aided by spiritual tools,
05:07Your weakness sometimes leads you to sin,
05:10Remember that at that moment you must place yourself at the feet of our Lord.
05:16of our Savior,
05:18humbly and with a contrite heart acknowledge your misery
05:23and lift your eyes and heart to God who loves you,
05:27And at that moment I'm sure he will fill you with his love.
05:31Seek the sacramental help of reconciliation after committing a grave sin.
05:37so that you can heal and purify your soul
05:40and to feel loved and forgiven by the Lord of mercy.
05:46I hope, my dear brother Benjamin,
05:49May this help you to live a better relationship with God
05:53and to trust more in His love.
05:54And well, that concludes this first season of Knowing to Love.
06:01I hope you've had the opportunity to get to know your faith much more deeply.
06:06and that this has led you to love our God much more.
06:10We will return in the future with the second season of Knowing to Love,
06:14But first, I invite you to stay tuned.
06:17because we will have a big surprise for you during Advent.
06:21Blessings to all and until next time.
