{"id":96918,"date":"2024-10-27T01:00:35","date_gmt":"2024-10-27T00:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/?p=96918"},"modified":"2026-09-26T16:14:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T15:14:59","slug":"father-ferdinando-colombo-admonishing-sinners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/father-ferdinando-colombo-admonishing-sinners\/","title":{"rendered":"Father Ferdinando Colombo: Admonishing Sinners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>How can you say to your brother, &#8216;Let me take the speck out of your eye,&#8217; when there is the log in your own eye? (Mt 7:4)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Admonishing sinners, a very delicate action that requires great humility and great love so as not to turn into an inadmissible act of interference in someone else&#8217;s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Admonishing sinners must be done as when we clothe a poor person because we see them in their nakedness and have true compassion on them. Then we clothe them in the Name of Christ, with love, without asking why they were naked\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That question belongs to God, as when He asked Adam: \u201cand who told you that you were naked?\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Adam commits the first sin, he realizes for the first time that he is naked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God asked him: \u00abWhere are you?\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He answered: \u00abI heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself\u00bb. He resumed: \u00abWho told you that you were naked? \u2026 \u00bb (Gen 3:1-22).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Admonishing the sinner is warning him of the sins he commits and therefore of his being naked. (Lucetta Scaraffia)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSinners\u201d and \u201cadmonish\u201d are two harsh words to our ears. Pope Francis often says he is a sinner. All of us are sinners. But so many people of our time do not share this statement; they do not consider themselves sinners, but rather righteous, with some minor \u201chuman\u201d flaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"sin-as-a-private-matter\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sin as a private matter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sense of sin has disappeared from many hearts. This is a logical consequence of the disappearance of the sense of God. Pius XII already said in the 1950s that \u201cthe sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin\u201d. What would he say today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another problem is added: today everything concerning God, religion, and sin is considered a \u201cprivate matter\u201d, and entering this sphere is seen as an interference in another&#8217;s private life, as a failure to respect their conscience and freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This would be contrary to necessary tolerance and peace, and therefore an antisocial behavior. But this stance is unacceptable, because it reduces religion to a \u201cprivate matter\u201d, while in reality it encompasses all of life, our relationship with God, with our neighbor, with the world, and with ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is important, therefore, to awaken consciences, speaking of God and His truth and calling by name the grave sins that destroy human beings, families, and society: superstition, idolatry, blasphemy, hatred, abortion, adultery, divorce, tax evasion, gambling, slander, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Seeking, with gentleness, to help people who commit such sins understand that they are not following the path of life is not an offense against them, but\u2014on the contrary\u2014a true Work of Mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"recognizing-the-evil-of-ones-sin\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recognizing the evil of one&#8217;s sin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recognizing the evil of one&#8217;s sin is the primary condition so that, with the help of divine mercy, a person may leave the path that leads to death, heal, and find life again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saint James writes: \u201cMy brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death\u201d (Jas 5:19-20). We could be \u201cspiritual physicians\u201d for one another (Hermann Geissler F.S.O.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mercy is the way God-Trinity relates to the sinner. The moment evil and sin enter a person&#8217;s life, God&#8217;s response is to intensify His love for that person. God&#8217;s purpose is to \u201cmake righteous\u201d the person who has done evil: to free them from evil, to restore them to the \u201cright relationship\u201d with Himself, with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00abI do not desire the death of the sinner, but that they convert and live\u00bb. God&#8217;s intervention is \u201can extra measure of love\u201d, a more intense investment of gratuitous love, in the hope that the sinner realizes they are loved and returns to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The justice of God-Trinity-Mercy desires that the sinner, welcoming His gratuitous Love, returns to Him; this is conversion through love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It helps them recognize their sin and decide to abandon it because sin destroys His plan of love that gives meaning to each person&#8217;s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thus God-Trinity-Mercy resumes His dialogue of love so that the person \u201cmay live\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This sequence can be defined as a \u201csuper-gift\u201d, for-giveness. This is Mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God&#8217;s action is not to erase sin or to forget sins, but is directed toward the person of the sinner: a reconstructive intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God-Trinity-Mercy JUSTIFIES, makes righteous, that is, capable of resuming dialogue with Him. The pinnacle of Mercy is this Justice of God: creative, restoring, justifying, which restores to man his dignity as a \u201cchild of God\u201d. (F.C.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00ab\u2026 it is necessary to recognize that we are sinners, to strengthen in us the certainty of divine mercy. \u201cLord, I am a sinner: come with your mercy\u201d. This is a beautiful prayer. It is an easy prayer to say every day: \u201cLord, I am a sinner: come with your mercy\u201d\u00bb. (Pope Francis)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"prayer-for-the-conversion-of-sinners\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prayer for the conversion of sinners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus said to Sister M. Faustina Kowalska: \u201cThe prayer for the conversion of sinners is most pleasing to Me. I always answer it\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus, eternal truth and our life,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">as a beggar I implore your Mercy for sinners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sweetest Heart of my Lord, full of compassion and mercy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I plead with you for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O Heart, fountain of Mercy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">from which rays of incomparable graces flow upon all mankind, I ask of you light for those who are in sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus, remember your bitter passion<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">and do not allow souls redeemed at so great a price by your blood to be lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O Jesus, when I meditate on the great value of your blood, I rejoice in such greatness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">for although sin is an abyss of ingratitude and wickedness, yet the price paid for it<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">is infinitely greater than the sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An immense joy ignites in my heart as I admire this inconceivable goodness of yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O my Jesus, I desire to bring all sinners to your feet, that they may glorify your Mercy, which is infinite. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Illustration by Sister Marie-Anastasia Carr\u00e9 (Communaut\u00e9 des B\u00e9atitudes)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How can you say to your brother, &#8216;Let me take the speck out of your eye,&#8217; when there is the log in your own eye? (Mt 7:4) Admonishing sinners, a very delicate action that requires great humility and great love so as not to turn into an inadmissible act of interference in someone else&#8217;s life. &#8230; <a title=\"Father Ferdinando Colombo: Admonishing Sinners\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/father-ferdinando-colombo-admonishing-sinners\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Father Ferdinando Colombo: Admonishing Sinners\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":96917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","ss_featured_image_title":"","ss_featured_image_alt":"","ss_featured_image_caption":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2387],"tags":[10932,2611,2737,2655,2613,2651],"class_list":["post-96918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentaries-on-the-works-of-mercy","tag-admonish-sinners-3","tag-catholic-church","tag-church-in-the-world","tag-god","tag-gospel","tag-jesus","infinite-scroll-item","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Admonishing sinners: the Work of Mercy with humility and love<\/title>\n<meta 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Colombo\"},\"description\":\"He was born on December 23, 1936 in Trezzo sull\u2019Adda (MI). He came to know the Salesians of Treviglio and, fascinated by them, on August 16, 1954, made his religious profession in the Salesian Congregation. He graduated in Mathematics and Physics. He became a priest on April 10, 1965. Teaching and youth pastoral activities intertwined during the years he spent in Bologna, Pavia and Treviglio. At the Salesian Institute of Treviglio he taught mathematics and physics. In 1974, in Treviglio, he founded the non-governmental organization (NGO) Amici del Rwanda, later transformed into Amici dei Popoli, which enabled him to provide concrete aid for human development, but above all allowed him to give life to a form of education for global awareness that consists in preparing groups of young people whom he then accompanies to live for a month at Salesian missions, a kind of \u201cmaster\u2019s in humanity at the school of the poor\u201d. In 1978 he was sent to Bologna as Parish Priest and Director of the Community in the Parish of San Giovanni Bosco: ten years of pastoral, social and missionary activities. His superiors called him to Turin in 1988 for two closely connected assignments: to give life to VIS, Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo, and to be the Missionary Animator for all Salesian Italy. He moved the headquarters of VIS to Rome, where the NGO flourished and reached the whole world with human development projects. Conferences, publications, educational aids and profiles of missionaries for missionary animation flourished, culminating every year in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin in a three-day event called Haramb\u00e8e, which has become a stable national appointment. With this missionary spirit, he prepares and accompanies hundreds of volunteers who, for two or more years, support the Salesians\u2019 human development projects in Poor Countries. Since 2009 he has been responsible for the management of the Salesian Work of the Sacred Heart in Bologna.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/spaziospadoni.org\\\/en\\\/author\\\/mission_colombo\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Admonishing sinners: the Work of Mercy with humility and love","description":"Admonishing sinners is a Work of Mercy: discover how to awaken consciences with deep humility, brotherly love, and divine forgiveness.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/father-ferdinando-colombo-admonishing-sinners\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Admonishing sinners: the Work of Mercy with humility and love","og_description":"Admonishing sinners is a Work of Mercy: discover how to awaken consciences with deep humility, brotherly love, and divine 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He came to know the Salesians of Treviglio and, fascinated by them, on August 16, 1954, made his religious profession in the Salesian Congregation. He graduated in Mathematics and Physics. He became a priest on April 10, 1965. Teaching and youth pastoral activities intertwined during the years he spent in Bologna, Pavia and Treviglio. At the Salesian Institute of Treviglio he taught mathematics and physics. In 1974, in Treviglio, he founded the non-governmental organization (NGO) Amici del Rwanda, later transformed into Amici dei Popoli, which enabled him to provide concrete aid for human development, but above all allowed him to give life to a form of education for global awareness that consists in preparing groups of young people whom he then accompanies to live for a month at Salesian missions, a kind of \u201cmaster\u2019s in humanity at the school of the poor\u201d. In 1978 he was sent to Bologna as Parish Priest and Director of the Community in the Parish of San Giovanni Bosco: ten years of pastoral, social and missionary activities. His superiors called him to Turin in 1988 for two closely connected assignments: to give life to VIS, Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo, and to be the Missionary Animator for all Salesian Italy. He moved the headquarters of VIS to Rome, where the NGO flourished and reached the whole world with human development projects. Conferences, publications, educational aids and profiles of missionaries for missionary animation flourished, culminating every year in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin in a three-day event called Haramb\u00e8e, which has become a stable national appointment. With this missionary spirit, he prepares and accompanies hundreds of volunteers who, for two or more years, support the Salesians\u2019 human development projects in Poor Countries. Since 2009 he has been responsible for the management of the Salesian Work of the Sacred Heart in Bologna.","url":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/author\/mission_colombo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96918"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96919,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96918\/revisions\/96919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}