“I appeal therefore first to you, my brethren, who, having committed crimes refuse penance! You, I say, who are timid after being shameless, who are bashful after sinning! You who are not ashamed to sin, but are ashamed to confess! You who bring to God a polluted soul and a profane body, as if, because God is silent, he does not know! Hear what the Lord has done, and then what he has said.” St. Pacian of Barcelona (310-391)

The Scriptures are clear about what the Lord thinks when we come into his presence with blemished lives without repentance. The words of Jesus to the religious leaders of his day could be equally applied to some who enter Church on Sunday. “Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me.’” (Matthew 15:7-9) Yes, the Church is a place for both saints and sinners, saints who know they are sinners; sinners, who wish to return to the Lord, seeking forgiveness.  But it is the hypocrisy of those who are unrepentant sinners appearing to be saints, which offends the Lord. Come into his presence with contrite and humble hearts and he will raise you up.