Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
end quote
Victor Hugo's great classic Les Misérables speaks to the repentance of a former convict, choosing to spend the rest of his life assisting all who entered his life.
Today's readings address justice, forgiveness, and repentance with a view to our actions evidencing our free choice to do more than dwell in words seeking forgiveness for our earlier destructive behaviour. The Sacrament of Reconciliation with The Divine Mystery encourages us to sacrifice our egotistical mindset, in favour of helping those who by perceived accident appear in our life needing our practical assistance.
Justice is not monopolised by a court of law when recognising that The Father intervenes in our life not to punish us, but to correct the error of our ways that had been leading us into self destructive, and destructive behaviour. The Advocate speaks into our thoughts with our awareness that our conscience is steering a course keeping us safe, by protecting us from our self serving choices.
“You ask me what forces me to speak? a strange thing; my conscience.” ~ Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
Conscience is also metaphor for the influence of The Holy Spirit guiding us through our life's journey, raising us up out of our self excavated pit of misery into a life filled with The Divine Presence leading us until our life time is completed.
The Holy Spirit is also known as The Helper stepping into our thoughts inviting us to forget the past, beginning our new life in His tender, loving care, and protection. The Helper, or The Advocate stands at our side ensuring that we stay on the right path, granted to us by Our Father becoming His outreach into the lives of those He introduces to us...to assist.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ~ John 14:26
