Our church honors many wonderful saints who made the conversion from a sinful life to a life of faith. For example, think about St. Paul. Before he became a saint he was called Saul and was persecuting Christians. He probably had killed many of Jesus’ disciples. But even that did not disqualify him from ‘going to heaven.’ Or just think about that criminal who was hanging on the cross next to Jesus - his whole life was a life filled with all kinds of sins. We can only imagine what kind of terrible things he must have done to others. Yet - what? He made his conversion a few minutes before he died, and Jesus promised to him paradise. Not fair - you may think! Here you are, a practicing Catholic from early childhood: going to church, going to confession, helping the poor, trying to follow the commandments. But then there’s that person that you know, who was away from the church all his or her life and then in old age returned to faith, died, and went ‘to heaven.’ Today Jesus reminds us that instead of looking at others, instead of comparing or complaining, those of us who are fortunate to know our faith from the beginning should rejoice and be glad for all the wonderful work we have accomplished in our lives, and we should look forward to life eternal. But we should also be glad that God shows His mercy even to the greatest sinner.
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