Lyggeridis murder: May the guilty see their punishment as spiritual recompense for the crime they committed – Only in this way will they be atone

April 25, 2024 – 18:32

Just as the robber repented on the cross but accepted his punishment, so the prisoner begins to repent by accepting that he is justly punished

In a few days we will hear in the wonderful Gospels of Holy Week about Dysmas, the robber who was crucified at the right of Christ, repented of his actions, asked for mercy from the God-Man and became the first person to pass through the gate of paradise.

In a single moment the robber grabbed the ticket to heaven. And what had he said just before to the other robber who was crucified to the left of Christ and was mocking Him? “Do you not fear God either, although you are subject to the same passion? And rightfully so (we are punished), for we enjoy what our actions deserve. But he (Jesus) did nothing out of place.”

We see that what preceded the repentance and redemption of the good robber, was the admission of crimes of, the realization that is justly punished by the law for what he did.

Roman Law mandated crucifixion at the time. Today on the 21st^The century, we have imprisonment. Crime, punishment, repentance and spiritual redemption. The same cycle repeats itself today for many criminals who treat their sentence as a laboratory humiliation and repentance.

Countless are the prayers that are sent from prisons. And God’s grace has turned great evildoers into meek lambs. Typical is the case of Dimitris Passaris who, in prison, came to know faith, replaced weapons with the rosary and became a transformed soul.

From this perspective, it would be worth seeing as well the murder case of the police officer Giorgos Lyggeridis which occupies the news with its developments. We saw that 67 people were arrested and charged with the crime. Among the accused are 15 minors and generally most of them they are new guys who ruined their lives with hooliganism. Jail awaits them and the penalties will be long.

Without support in God, prison is an unbearable torture. There are two things for these children: either they will be completely assimilated into the underworld and lose what is left of their humanity, or they will see their doom. like an anvil that they will forge their repentance. The infliction of punishment is a means of expiating offenses against both human laws and God. Killed lives do not come back, but every man, even every criminal has a right to say “remember me Lord” as that robber said 2000 years ago.

Passaris said in an interview that he does every day 100 penances for every man who killed This is called honor and awareness of a crime. He cannot do anything else, but he does what he can. In the priest’s petrachel and in the prison furnace, time counts atoningly for the penitent. It is enough to come to terms with your responsibilities and say “we deserve what we do”. People may condemn you for life, but God judges according to the measure of souls, as He sees them changing in their depths and asking for His mercy.