In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We will start with a phrase from a monk who received it by divine inspiration,
which is the basis of all reparation which says:
"He who loves repairs twice."
And it is a phrase that is closely linked to what Pope Saint Peter the Apostle says
that love covers an infinity of sins
in 1 Peter 4:8.
This means that living the love in the way that God asks is the basis for being able
to make the best reparation.
Delving into more detail about reparation, there are three types of reparation we can do.
The first type is called "particular reparation" in relation to the sin we have committed,
for example I fall into the sin of stealing 10 dollars,
then I repent, then I am going
to confess to a priest, then the priest gives me absolution in the name of God,
and the particular reparation that I should make regarding this sin is to return the 10 dollars to the
person who I stole it from.
So using this example as a model we can make a "particular reparation" for each sin we commit.
The second type of reparation is what is called "general reparation"
in which I offer certain
things in reparation for all my sins.
For example
from the spiritual point of view, I can offer my rosaries
offer my Masses that
I go to, offer the Communion that I receive,
the reading and meditation of the word of
God or Lectio Divina that I do
offer my prayers
I can offer my fasting,
I can make all these
offerings in reparation for all my sins.
I can also offer from the point of view of the material world in which we live
to offer situations in reparation for all my sins.
When I get up in the morning I can say
"Lord today I offer You all the sacrifices that
are going to be presented to me, that I am going to make in reparation for all my sins."
An example of this could be during the day someone insults me
and because of the pride
that we all have, that insult will provoke me to return the insult
probably more offensively
than how the other person insulted me at the beginning.
On the other hand what I can do instead of returning the insult is to make the sacrifice
of silence and say
"Lord, to fulfill my offer of my reparation
I decide not to say anything
in return and to not allow a bad thought or bad desire against that person to cross my mind."
For charity I can even make a prayer in my mind for that person.
So this is an example of how I can also make sacrifices in reparation for all my sins.
Another example about "general reparation" would be all the symptoms and sufferings that
I may have due to some illness
I will try to live them in a better way
so they can serve
in reparation for all my sins.
All these examples make us see the different ways that we can apply the "general reparation"
that is to make reparation for all our sins.
The third type of reparation is taking advantage of the benefits that the Catholic Church gives
us to be able to repair, which are indulgences.
There are two types of indulgences.
Partial indulgence and Plenary indulgence.
It is important to mention that indulgences erase all the confessed sins of our entire life
that is why the indulgence is considered a very special grace that we must do all we can to earn it.
So when practicing any of these three types of reparation, it always must be done having
as a base, as a foundation, as we mentioned at the beginning
to live in the love that God asks of us.
These reparations can be done for oneself and for all humanity as the Angel of Portugal
taught us at Fatima with the following prayer:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.