Become an Apostle of Reconciliation

28 Tuesday Mar 2023

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Reconciliation

Tags

Confession, Forgiven, John 8:1-11, Jonah, Penance, Reconciliation, Sacrament of Reconciliation, The Jonah Plan

It is Lent and, as such, there is a special call for repentance prior to Easter. We want our souls to be in a state of grace prior to celebrating the Lord’s passion. Most parishes offer a communal penance service a week or two before Holy Week for everyone who seeks to be cleansed of their mortal and venial sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Our parish’s penance service was last week. Our pastor arranged for six priests to visit and join him in hearing confessions. They spaced themselves out around the perimeter of the sanctuary for privacy’s sake. I decided which priest with whom I wanted to air out my dirty laundry and took my place in that line. As I looked around the church at the other lines and the folks still in the pews, I counted forty-nine souls. Some parents and children were there together so there may have been thirty families represented overall. Our parish has nearly 1,300 members. Where were they?

My first reaction was sorrow for our pastor who was leading his first Lenten penance service in his new parish. I felt sure that he must be experiencing some embarrassment in front of his brother priests for the lack of attendance. And, he had to be thinking about the work ahead for him.

Then, I wondered why did people not come? It had been advertised in our bulletin all during Lent, flyers were posted, and it was announced at masses. Where was our faith community? Some probably forgot. Some may have recently been to confession. Some probably planned to go to regularly scheduled Reconciliation on the following Saturday.

It’s possible that some folks are without sin in their lives and didn’t need to go. It’s possible. But, not probable.

Being careful not to judge individuals, I concluded that for many parishioners it just wasn’t important. The lack of importance may be a result of lukewarmness, a lack of catechesis, of having a minimal, if any, relationship with Jesus, or simply that other things were more important. My worst fear was that people didn’t show up because they do not believe that the true Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ is contained in the Holy Eucharist, and, therefore, saw no reason to be reconciled and receive the Lord’s mercy before receiving communion.

I had been thinking about this since that night. Then, after meditating on yesterday’s Gospel, I decided I needed to say something. Thus, with no intention of passing judgment on anyone in particular in our parish who skipped this beautiful opportunity to receive the mercy of God, or on anyone around the world who is reading this, I encourage you to go back and reflect on yesterday’s Gospel, John 8:1-11, the story of the woman caught in adultery.

In this passage, Jesus gives a shining example of his loving mercy. The adulterous woman was afraid of the consequences prescribed by the Law of Moses – death by stoning. Jesus, in His mercy, turned back the anger of the Pharisees when he brought to light their own sins by suggesting that whoever among them was “without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Jesus then forgave the woman’s sins and told her to go and sin no more. Do you think she was grateful? You bet! Do you think she worked on becoming more virtuous? I suspect she did! When we fail to go before the priest, confess our sins, and let Jesus forgive us, we are facing certain spiritual death. We need His mercy, and when we receive it we should be as relieved and full of joy as that woman was. We are given a new life and an opportunity to begin again.

But, this post is not just for those Catholics who don’t take this amazing Sacrament seriously. No, it’s also for those who do. You know how loved you feel when Our Lord absolves you of your sins, when His Grace has been restored within you. It should make you run to tell others of Christ’s love, so that they will want to experience it, too. We are called to practice the virtue of Charity. How uncharitable would it be to not let a friend or family member know of this wonderful opportunity for salvation through reconciliation? How much more can we love our neighbors than to bring them to this amazing “car wash” where the dirt and grime is power washed from their souls?

A good friend of mine has chosen as her personal apostolate this very charity for others. Paula has developed a website called The Jonah Plan. Her hope is to establish a community committed to regularly attending the Sacrament of Reconciliation, praying for those who do not recognize its value, and learning more about the Sacrament so that they can teach others about it. There is power in numbers, and Paula’s hope is that by joining with other people committed to devoting one day a month to pray that family, friends, and fellow parishioners return to this Sacrament and experience Christ’s love and mercy, the Church will be renewed. Please check out her website at the link above.

Won’t you become an Apostle of Reconciliation?

“Loving Jesus, thank You for Your mercy and absolution when I come before You and confess my sins. Your love restores and invigorates my soul. You give me new life and an opportunity to begin again. Thank You! Amen!”

(Become an Apostle of Reconciliation was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2023 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

Reconciliation: A Grace-Filled Turning Back to God

04 Saturday Apr 2020

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Reconciliation

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

CCC 1441, CCC 1442, Confession, Examination of Conscience, Jn 20:19-23, Jn 4:28, Reconciliation, Sacrament of Reconciliation

Each day this week I’ve offered related posts about sin, Spiritual Atrophy that brings about heightened opportunities to sin during these stressful times of self-isolation, and ways to recognize the sins you’ve committed (or omitted): the “Checklist”, CPR, and Analytical methods of examining one’s conscience.

So, what is the next step? You’ve utilized one of these methods and identified particular actions or attitudes that have damaged your relationship with either God, other people, or both. You’ve analyzed the seriousness of your sins, determined if they are mortal or venial, and now you feel remorse, embarrassment, or, even worse, shame for having committed them. If you’ve made it this far and genuinely have a contrite heart, you’re good to go on to the next step. If you don’t feel a real sense of remorse, then you probably ought to go back to step one and start over again.

The next step for the repentant soul is to let God love you! This means accepting that God loves you even when you are wounded and stained. It means turning back to God and loving Him in return by telling Him that you’re sorry for choosing an inferior good over Him. And, it means asking for God’s mercy, His forgiveness, and to be cleansed of your sins. Asking is necessary, for as St. Augustine said, the Lord who created you without your permission, cannot save you without your permission. We take this step by going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, confessing our sins, and receiving His mercy even though we don’t deserve it.

I have heard many and various reasons why people don’t want to go to confession: embarrassment, shame, fear of what God will think, fear of what the priest will think, etc. It’s important to remember that God is not scandalized by our sins – He already knows what they are! We may try to justify our sins in an attempt to lessen their severity, but God can’t be fooled. He wants humility and honesty and to see that our view matches up with His. God is like a father who is not scandalized when his teenaged new driver has his or her first fender bender.

Neither will the priest be scandalized. Every priest I’ve ever talked to about reconciliation has said they rejoice when a person confesses their sins. They see it as a win/win: a victory for the Lord that we have returned, and a victory for us that our sins have been erased. A common excuse many give for not going to confession is that the priest will be surprised with your sin. This time, you’re fooling yourself. There are very few sins he hasn’t heard. The devil is not that creative! Neither will the priest remember your sins. He hears so many there’s no way he can remember them all, and he doesn’t want to. Finally, the priest is bound by a sacred seal to never repeat anything that you mention in the confessional.

Another common excuse for not going to confession is that it’s easier to just talk to God and give Him your apology. The Protestants might think that works for them but it doesn’t work for us Catholics. Sorry. We go to confession because Jesus himself invented the Sacrament of Reconciliation, not the Apostles, not any one particular pope, not the Church in general, but Jesus. (Jn 20:19-23). Also, we are human, a combination of body and soul. We need to hear with our ears that we are forgiven and we hear Jesus forgive us through the priest just as we would have two thousand years ago if it was Jesus himself. (CCC 1441-1442)

Once you’ve moved past your fears and rationale for not going to confession and decided to show up at the confessional, it’s best to know how to make a good confession. First, one needs to be completely open and honest and be frank in saying their sins. There’s no need to explain or try to justify what you’ve done. If the priest thinks it’s necessary to know, he’ll ask. Perhaps even more importantly, one needs to truly repent and demonstrate a desire to not commit that sin again by reciting an act of contrition. Then, one needs to demonstrate a desire to change and be healed by carrying out the penance assigned by the priest, and give consideration to what will be done differently to avoid that sin in the future.

A good confession is rounded out by a prayer of thanksgiving and a feeling of love shared between God the Father and you, His beloved son or daughter. This reconciliation with God and the whole Church is truly a moving experience! God gives us His own life in the form of grace that restores and heals us. It gives us the strength to do good, resist evil, and begin again. And, it remits the eternal consequences of our sin (Hell).

Another way to show gratitude for the absolution of our sins is to encourage friends and family to visit this Spring of Living Water just as the Samaritan woman did when she invited the people of her town to meet Jesus. (Jn4:28) Is there any better act of charity than to help others who are stained with sin to be cleansed and reconciled to God?

I am late getting this posted so you will not be reading it until Saturday at least. Many parishes typically offer the Sacrament on Saturdays, and still do even with the pandemic, but follow the mandated social distancing guidelines. I pray that these posts this week will have encouraged you to examine your conscience; identify those particular areas where you’ve been less virtuous than you should; and, by better understanding the Sacrament, give you the fortitude to visit Jesus and receive the Living Water that He offers. Remember, He can’t fill your cup if it’s turned upside down.

I hope you have a truly faith-filled Holy Week in spite of not being able to participate in the celebration at your church. God bless you all!

(Reconciliation: A Grace-Filled Turning Back to God was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2020 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

Advent: A Season for Healing Spiritual Paralysis

10 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Advent, Confession, Reconciliation

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Advent, Confession, Friendship, Healing of the Paralytic, Love, Luke 5:17-26, Sacrament of Reconciliation

Healing of the Paralytic by Harold Copping

As I was driving to town to attend mass this morning I was running through plans for the week, trying to remember what appointments I have, what I need to be prepared for, and, especially, looking for blocks of time when my wife and I can spend some time together. I made a note that our parish has its Advent penance service this Thursday evening, and I looked forward to this being something Melinda and I could do together.

Participating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation has always been special for me. In the year before I became Catholic, while I was waiting for RCIA to begin and then throughout the formation period, I would go to Confession for “practice”. My friends would tease me about it but it felt good to make my examination of conscience, admit to my lapses in virtue. and to pray for the grace to get better. Unable at that time to receive Christ in the Holy Eucharist, Reconciliation seemed to be the best place for me to meet Jesus.

The Gospel for today was from Luke 5:17-26, the Healing of the Paralytic. I listened to our priest read about the healing of the paralyzed man whose friends lowered him from the roof of the house in which Jesus was teaching so that he might meet Jesus and be healed. And, as I pictured in my mind’s eye this man descending on his stretcher, coming closer and closer to Jesus, hoping to be healed, I thought about how it parallels my hope for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. What anticipation he must have felt as he was being lowered to the floor! Then, what joy he must have felt when his paralysis was cured and he stood and walked away carrying his stretcher! I thought, “I know that feeling!”

Then, my thoughts turned away from the paralytic and towards the four friends who cared enough to bring the man to where Jesus was teaching. Their faith was strong enough to not let the crowd obstruct them from arranging for the man to meet Jesus. I knew the true message of this Gospel passage was contained in Jesus’ forgiveness of their sins. Their faith and their love for their disabled friend saved them.

The paralyzed man could not get to Jesus under his own power. Instead, it took friends who loved and cared for him – friends who brought him hope.

I thought about all the people in our parish community, in our country and in the world, who, for one reason or another, are paralyzed in their faith. People who feel their sins are so severe they are too ashamed to admit them to God. Men and women, young and old, who have fallen away from their faith and now don’t think they are worthy of God’s love and forgiveness.

I thought about all these good people, all children of God, who may just need “four friends” to bring them to Christ so they can be relieved of their “paralysis”. More than likely they can make it to church on their own two feet or in their own vehicle, but they just need some encouragement to go to Confession so they can be healed. They might only need to be reminded of the joy that comes from returning to grace and feeling God’s love for them. They may only need someone, like you or me, to rekindle their hope in this Season of Hope.

We may also know someone who truly is “paralyzed” from going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation because they can’t make it on their own steam. Perhaps they are disabled, isolated and lonely, or simply have no vehicle in which to get to church. As faithful friends we are called to reach out, assist, and arrange the means by which they can have their meeting with our Holy Physician.

Every parish in the world is offering a penance service during this season of Advent. I hope that each of you reading this will make it a point to go to Confession to prepare your heart for Christ’s coming. And, I hope that each of you will reach out and be the friend who helps those who are paralyzed, in whatever form, make receiving the Sacrament a reality.

God bless you!

“Lord God, thank You for the actual grace You bestow on us that allows us to come to You for forgiveness. And, thank You for the restoration of our baptismal grace once we do. Lord, help us to be the friends who bring those we love to You so that their loving relationship with You may be rekindled. Amen.”

(Advent: A Season for Healing Spiritual Paralysis was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2018 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.