There was a certain Pharisee who invited Jesus to dine with him. Jesus went to the Pharisee’s home and reclined to eat. A woman known in the town to be a sinner learned that he was dining in the Pharisee’s home. She brought perfumed oil in an alabaster jar and stood behind him at his feet, weeping so that her tears fell upon his feet. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissing them and perfuming them with the oil. When his host, the Pharisee, saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is that touches him – that she is a sinner. In answer to his thoughts, Jesus said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to propose to you.’ ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘speak.’

"Two men owed money to a certain money-lender; one owed a total of five hundred coins, the other fifty. Since neither was able to repay, he wrote off both debts. Which of them was more grateful to him?’ Simon answered, ‘He, I presume, to whom he remitted the larger sum.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You are right.’

"Turning then to the woman, he said to Simon" ‘You see this woman? I came to your home and you provided me with no water for my feet. She has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since I entered. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. I tell you, that is why her many sins are forgiven – because of her great love. Little is forgiven the one whose love is small.

"He said to her then, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, at which his fellow guests began to ask among themselves, ‘Who is this that he even forgives sins?’ Meanwhile, he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has been your salvation. Now go in peace.’" (Luke 7:36-50)

My brothers and sisters, yesterday was the feast of Mary Magdalene. It was not celebrated because it fell on a Sunday, the day of the Lord. We associate the name ‘Magdalene’ to the word ‘sin’ because this was Magdalene before she met our Lord. In the gospel that he wrote, St. Luke wrote that Magdalene was once enslaved by seven evil spirits. But the story of Magdalene does not end on her sinfulness. Her life was a story of sin, forgiveness, and love. This woman was one of the most faithful followers of Jesus. As a matter of fact, when Jesus’ followers left him after he has been taken into custody, Magdalene was one of the women who bravely stood underneath the cross of Jesus. It was to her that our Lord gave the good news of His resurrection so that it can be spread to his followers. That is why Mary Magdalene is considered the ‘apostle of the apostles.’

All of these simply prove her deep love to our Lord, a love that was exhibited by the woman who washed His feet with her tears.

He who has been forgiven much loves much. This probably explains the great love that Mary Magdalene had for our Lord. The Lord took her out of the deep pit of sin, that is why she had such great love for Jesus. But the forgiveness she received was a result of a love that was greater than her love for the Lord. It was the love of the Lord for her. St. John the Apostle said: "In this is love; not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as expiation for our sins. If God so loved us, we also must love one another."

"Our sins are a lack of love for God. When we love God, we obey His will," said St. John. For he who truly loves God obeys His commands. To disobey or ignore the will of God is a sin and, according to St. John, this disobedience indicates a lack of love for God. And because we owe God our whole life, our very existence, this lack of love for Him means holding back from Him what He deserves to receive from us, our unconditional love for Him. He loves us unconditionally. It is but proper that we love Him absolutely and selflessly.

What takes away sin? It is LOVE. You should love one another, because love takes away a lot of sins. "Love covers a multitude of sins," declared St. Peter the Apostle. Yesterday, while resting, I watched a cartoon strip on TV entitled "Tom and Jerry", about a cat named Tom who did nothing but make life miserable for a mouse named Jerry. In the cartoon story, Tom was pinned under a grand piano and died. When his soul was about to board the train that was to take him to heaven, the conductor prevented him from doing so because, according to him, the cat spent his whole life making life miserable for Jerry, the mouse. He was given a chance to return to earth and to ask Jerry to sign a document that says he, Jerry, forgives Tom for all his transgressions. But he was given only an hour to accomplish this task and, if he could not obtain the signed document within the alloted time, he would fall right into hell. So, within that short time Tom wooed Jerry: he offered cheese, he even knelt in front of the mouse begging him to sign the document. A cartoon show for children, but it clearly illustrates the message of St. Peter: "Love covers a multitude of sins."

The souls in purgatory are there because their love during their entire life was inadequate to wipe away their sins. They did not love enough, that is why they are in purgatory. The fire of purgatory is the fierce love of God that compensates for the souls’ lack of love. If the love of a person is not enough to pay for his own sins, God’s love makes up for his inadequate love.

The fire of purgatory, first and foremost, is the fire of justice. Justice is the first step to love. Through His justice, God makes up for our lack of love. However, this fire is also a fire of mercy, because through this fire God makes up for our shortcomings. Forgiveness comes from the love of God. This is the very love that St. Mary Magdalene tried to reciprocate through her deep love for God.

He who is forgiven much loves much. This is where Magdalene differs from us. Like Magdalene, we experience mercy, but are we like her in our efforts to reciprocate with our love God’s love for us? Oftentimes no. However, if God’s love forgives our sins, this same love compensates for our inadequate love. His love cleanses our wounds, His love wipes away our sins.

QUESTION: Are the sins one suffers for in purgatory the unrepented sins before death?

ANSWER: The doctrine of the Catholic Church on purgatory is this: Purgatory is a temporary place for the cleansing of venial sins and what is called "temporal punishment for sins." What does this mean? First. Let us talk about the two kinds of sins: mortal sins and venial sins. Mortal sins are so grave that they cut off our ties with God. Venial sins weaken our relationship with God, but they do not cut us off completely. When a person dies, he must repent for all his sins, especially his mortal sins. Should a person die with unrepented mortal sins, he will fall right into hell, because mortal sins kill. This is made clear in the first letter of St. John the Apostle. However, when a person dies with venial sins, he will have to expiate his sins in purgatory. A person who dies with unrepented mortal sin will never get to heaven. But if he repented for his mortal sins before he died, he will continue to suffer for them in purgatory. The important thing is this: When you are near death, make sure you repent for all your sins.