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From
a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement, pope
Repent
 et us fix our
attention on the Blood of Christ and recognize how precious it is to God
His Father, since It was shed for our salvation
and brought the grace of repentance to all the world.
If we review the various ages
of history, we will see that in every generation the Lord has offered
the opportunity of repentance to any who were willing to turn to Him. When
Noah preached God’s message of repentance, all who listened to him were
saved. Jonah told the Ninevites they were going
to be destroyed, but when they repented, their prayers gained God’s
forgiveness for their sins, and they were saved, even though they were not
of God’s people.
 Under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the ministers of God’s grace have
spoken of repentance; indeed, the Master of the whole universe Himself spoke
of repentance with an oath: As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish
the death of the sinner but his repentance. He added this evidence of his
goodness: House of Israel, repent of your wickedness. Tell the sons of My
people: If their sins should reach from earth to heaven, if they are brighter
than scarlet and blacker than sackcloth, you need only turn to Me with your
whole heart and say, “Father”, and I will listen to you as to a holy
people.
In other words, God wanted all
His beloved ones to have the opportunity to repent, and He confirmed this
desire by His own almighty will. That is why we
should obey His sovereign and glorious will and prayerfully entreat His
mercy and kindness. We should be suppliant before
Him and turn to His compassion, rejecting
empty works and quarrelling and
jealousy which only lead to death.
Brothers, we should be
humble in mind, putting aside all arrogance,
pride and foolish anger. Rather, we should act
in accordance with the Scriptures, as the Holy Spirit says: The wise man
must not glory in his wisdom nor the strong man in his
strength nor the rich man in his riches. Rather,
let him who glories glory in the Lord by seeking Him and doing what is right
and just. Recall especially what the Lord Jesus said when He taught
gentleness and forbearance. Be
merciful, He said, so that you may have mercy shown to you.
Forgive, so that you may be forgiven. As you treat
others, so you will be treated. As you give, so you will receive. As you
judge, so you will be judged. As you are kind to others, so you will be treated
kindly. The measure of your giving will be the measure of your
receiving.
Let these commandments and precepts
strengthen us to live in humble obedience to His
sacred words. As Scripture asks: Whom shall I look upon with favor except
the humble, peaceful man who trembles at My
words?
Sharing then in the heritage
of so many vast and glorious achievements, let us hasten toward the goal
of peace, set before us from the beginning. Let
us keep our eyes firmly fixed on the Father and Creator of the whole universe,
and hold fast to His splendid and transcendent gifts of peace and all His
blessings.
—Saint Clement, pope
Office of Readings, Ash Wednesday
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