Ezekiel's message today can be summed up in two short phrases: "Repent and all shall be well;" "Turn from the path of virtue and do evil and you shall suffer the consequences." The first phrase is clear consolation. The second phrase is not, in fact, a threat, but a statement of what will naturally occur, for sin ultimately contains its own punishment. God does not desire to punish the wicked, but rather that the sinner should repent and live. It may indeed be the case that the sinner must suffer in order to appreciate the need for repentance. Experience seems to teach us that it is only when the Lord lays bare our guilt in a time of suffering that we will easily and readily turn to God in repentance. We may then create a paradoxical Beatitude: Blessed are those who suffer for they shall see the light of truth and hear the call to repentance.

Following the response to the Psalm we may express this in another way. If God lays bare our guilt, that is, if God gives us the grace to see our sinfulness, it will be very difficult to bear: the revelation to ourselves of our own unworthiness will bring repentance and purification.