As we progress through Lent, looking ultimately towards the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord, we are reminded of our need for forgiveness and healing. The Catholic Church offers the Sacrament of Reconciliation as the instrument by which Jesus reconciles all sinners with himself.
St. John Vianney said of Reconciliation:
"My children, as soon as ever you have a little spot upon your soul, you must do like a person who has a fine globe of glass, which he keeps very carefully. If this globe has a little dust on it, he wipes it with a sponge the moment he perceives it, and there is the globe clear and brilliant... It is a beautiful thought, my children, that we have a Sacrament which heals the wounds of our soul!" (from St. John Vianney's Catechism on Confession).
You can read more about this great saint on the St. Louis Review's website: St. John Vianney reminds us of the importance of confession.
Many Catholics do not yet know the healing power and grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and many may not feel comfortable approaching a Priest in the Confessional. The Saint Louis Review offers a short and simple overview of how to approach the sacrament, and how to confess your sins and be forgiven, in the article How to make a good confession.
Catholics in St. Louis can easily find a Church where reconciliation is offered using the Archdiocesan website's Parish Reconciliation time search page. If a Reconciliation time is not available at the time for which you are looking, contact one of your parish's priests, and ask to set up a time for individual Reconciliation. The Lord is waiting to give you his plentiful graces!
Archbishop Robert J. Carlson writes, in this week's St. Louis Review, of the necessary steps to bring about healing in our own lives. Throughout Lent, Archbishop Carlson has given many ways for Catholics to rededicate their lives for Christ. You can read more of the Archbishop's columns on the St. Louis Review website.
By reason of her essential mission, the Church feels an obligation to go to the roots of that original wound of sin in order to bring healing (Pope John Paul II, "Reconciliation and Penance," 4).
Last week I wrote about the soul-sickness that afflicts us all. I also described the cure that the Church offers us -- the Sacrament of Penance. Finally, I invited every Catholic in the Archdiocese of St. Louis to make this Lent a time of spiritual healing, especially by making a good Confession.
In order to make a good Confession, we need to admit our sinfulness, to resolve to sin no more and to do penance. This requires us to distinguish between the sinful actions that we commit and the attitudes of mind and heart behind our actions; to recognize the difference between the deeds that harm our relationship with God, others and self and the thoughts, emotions and attitudes that motivate our deeds. In a really good Confession, we distinguish between our sins and our sinfulness, and then bring both into the Sacrament of Penance to ask God's forgiveness.
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