Truth and Consequences

Did you ever notice that consequences aren't something we look at very often?  Tv, movies, the internet seem to have only one mode - green for go, go, go.  Ads show us steaming hot fries or pizza with thick gooey cheese but not the consequences of eating too much salt, fat or greasy foods.  Exercise ads target our vanity, but not the consequences of improper footwear or poor form.  I think it's because their goal is to sell a product not care for our health.  But the Church is different.  She cares about the consequences.

The Church urges us to stop, reflect and think, because every action has a consequence.  Bad habits have bad consequences.  The Church isn't trying to sell fast food, or get our business.  She is trying to care for souls.  She wants our freedom. That’s very different from the way the world operates.  It’s so different that we feel like we’re being judged, as if the Church were always telling us what not to do.  But that’s not true.  The Church is our mother, not our judge.  She’s our teacher, not our accuser.  She is a physician, and during Lent, she offers the Sacrament of Reconciliation to save us from the bad consequences of sin.