Thursday, April 3, 2014

The Sacrament of Reconciliation: The Time for Mercy is now!

Life’s lesson teaches us that when we get dirty, we should take a bath or have a shower, as the case may be. Oh yes!  This is a very simple instruction from life. If you do not pay heed to this lesson, you remain dirty, unkempt, unclean and undesirable and soon enough, you begin to lose friends.

The Church also has a similar lesson to teach us about our souls? The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes mortal sin thus: “Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him.” (C.C.C. #1855) C.C.C. #1874 continues, “To choose deliberately – that is, both knowing it and willing it – something gravely contrary to the divine law and to the ultimate end of man is to commit a mortal sin. This destroys in us the charity without which eternal beatitude is impossible. Unrepented, it brings eternal death.” In his second Epistle 5:16-17, John states “If you see a believer commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray to God, who will give that person life. This applies to those whose sins do not lead to death. But there is sin which leads to death and I don’t say that you should pray to God about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which does not lead to death”. It follows therefore, that the sin that leads to death is mortal and it is the sin that also drives God away from your soul. This too is hell, for hell is a situation where there is no God. So if John the evangelist tells us to pray for those who commit venial sin, what should we do for those who commit mortal sin? C.C.C. #1856 instructs: “Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us – that is, charity – necessitates a new initiative of God’s mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the Sacrament of Confession.”

As your body gets dirty due to work, workout or sporting activities, so too is your soul. As you go about your daily duties and are concerned with life, you gather dirt called sin that clings to your soul. This dirt is, most of the time, as a result of your relationships and bad choices.  If unchecked, it will take away your peace; your joy and gradually your relationship with God will be affected and may end up driving God away from your life completely. You become hardened and your conscience deadened. Finally, you grow used to sin and are mastered by it.  

The sacrament reconciliation is one of the channels of Grace that Christ gave to the Church after his resurrection. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Through the sacraments of Christian initiation, man receives the new life of Christ. Now we carry this life “in earthen vessels,” and it remains “hidden with Christ in God.” We are still in our “earthly tent,” subject to suffering, illness, and death. This new life as a child of God can be weakened and even lost by sin.” The Catechism remind us: “The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation, even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.”

Isn’t it sad that very few Catholics use this sacrament nowadays? Many see it as old fashion, outdated or obsolete. Really? It’s strange that many would spend a lot of money on counseling but would be slow to approach the throne of Grace and ask for mercy freely given in the sacrament of reconciliation. Yet the Catechism teaches us that “Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against him, and are at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion.” No wonder Pope Francis sees the sacrament of reconciliation as the sacrament of mercy. On March 28, 2014 the Holy Father states in his homily at Casa Santa Marta thus: “God waits for us and never tires of forgiving us. Reflecting on the book of Prophet Hosea: “Return, O Israel to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to the Lord”, he stressed,  “God waits and also God forgives, He is the God of mercy, he never tires of forgiving us. It is we who are tired of asking for forgiveness, but he never gets tired”.

One of the best ways to celebrate the Easter is to purify yourself of sins through the sacrament of reconciliation, so called, as the Catechism teaches “because it imparts to the sinner the love of God.” He who lives by God’s merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord’s call: “Go, first be reconciled to your brother.” Pope Benedict XVI linked the sacrament of reconciliation to the work of evangelization. Read on:
“Thus sacramental confession is an important aspect of new evangelization. “True conversion of hearts, which means opening ourselves to the transforming and regenerative actions of God, is the ‘motor’ of all reform and turns into an authentic force for evangelization. During Confession, the repentant sinner, thanks to the gratuitous action of divine Mercy, is justified, forgiven and sanctified… Only those who allow themselves to be profoundly renewed by divine Grace can internalize and therefore announce the novelty of the Gospel”. All saints in history bear witness to this close relationship between sanctity and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. New evangelization itself “draws life blood from the sanctity of the sons and daughters of the Church, from the daily process of individual and community conversion, conforming itself ever more profoundly to Christ.”
The sacrament of reconciliation offers you the chance to humble yourself before God your father as the prodigal son in Luke’s Gospel 15, and enables you to receive forgiveness for your sins. It is the washing or the shower that you need for your soul. The penance that you receive makes you feel clean and refresh so that you may have the courage to face a new day with strength.


If you have not yet done so, I plead with you to make use of this sacrament. Approach it with love and humility, be courageous and go to the God of mercy, confess your sins and receive forgiveness and absolution from God. Listen again to the words of Christ in John’s Gospel 20:22-23: “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” The Church truly has the power to forgive sins and Christ gave that power in the sacrament of reconciliation. Please take these golden words of Pope Francis to heart as you prepare to have your sins forgiven on April 8th at 7:00 pm: “He will make a feast for you, ‘His splendor shall be like the olive tree and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.’ The life of every person, of every man, of every woman, who has the courage to draw close to the Lord, will find the joy of the feast of God. So, may this word help us to think of our Father, the Father that waits for us always, who always forgives us and who feasts when return.” What else can I tell you?