Monday, March 28, 2011

Just this weekend I was thinking about confession ...

... during my wrestling with keeping my thoughts on Mass, one of the wanderings my too-active brain did was a realization that Reconciliation (a.k.a. confession) is the only sacrament, other than the Eucharist, which can be repeated frequently in ordinary life and which we need no other prompting than to get ourselves to the confessional.

(Quick refresher here - the seven sacraments are: Baptism, Eucharist (communion), Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, Annointing of the Sick)

I don't know why this never dawned on me in quite that way, but it made it more special. It is so important, like the Eucharist, that God wanted us to be able to get it whenever we needed it. Often. Frequently.

But do we think of it that way? I do not. Which is, in itself, something I need to think about.

As if to underscore that realization, today I had a question pop up on an old post explaining Penance (yet, another term for Reconciliation and Confession). You just get yourselves over there to see what it was, but it made me look up the results of Confession. I gotta love that online Catechism.
1496 The spiritual effects of the sacrament of Penance are:
  • reconciliation with God by which the penitent recovers grace;
  • reconciliation with the Church;
  • remission of the eternal punishment incurred by mortal sins;
  • remission, at least in part, of temporal punishments resulting from sin;
  • peace and serenity of conscience, and spiritual consolation;
  • an increase of spiritual strength for the Christian battle.
It is Lent. Time for confession, penance, and reconciliation with God. What else do I need to think about?

Nothing really.

2 comments:

  1. Sunday at Mass and also during my Confession on the Wednesday before, Father reminded me (and us at Mass) that Jesus THIRSTS for us! He wants to be in a relationship with us. He LONGS for us. And Reconciliation is one special way we can go to Him and grow closer to Him.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well said! I hope my parishioners read your blog... I encourage them to take advantage of this sacrament, but it might help to hear it from someone who is not a priest.

    ReplyDelete