[1]Forgive me Father for I have sinned. Words that I and so many others repeat so often on a regular basis, or maybe it has been a while. That’s not the only thing repeated in the confessional, at least for me. I often find myself confessing the same repeated sins, time and time again.
Two concepts often collide in our human
existence, especially when it comes to sin, are shame and pride. The devil uses both in the most subtle why. He
uses shame to draw us away from God. In our embarrassment for the sin itself
and/or repetitiveness of the sin, we avoid bringing them to God and seeking His
mercy and forgiveness. He uses pride to say we don’t need to go to God’s
representatives (the priests) to get forgiveness. We just need to be sorry, say
a prayer, and move on smartly. We’re a good person overall.
I’ve learned many times, that there is no
such thing as private sin. Yes, we sin individually but all sin impacts the
community, the faith community, and the community at large. Therefore, all sin
is communal in nature.
This is what the prophet Baruch, and so many
of the Old Testament prophets, is telling the Israelite community, we “are flushed with shame,” (Bar 1:15) our pride has led us to sin. Putting
ourselves before all else, “we have been
disobedient to the Lord, our God, and only too ready to disregard his voice.” (Bar 1:19) We are committing the very same sins of our
fathers! In the next chapter the prophet prays for deliverance, praying for
repentance for the community.
What does repentance look like? The gospel
tells us that “if the mighty deeds
done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have
repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.” (Lk
10:13) For us the sacrament of reconciliation is the starting point. While we may
be familiar with the feeling of reconciliation as we emerge from the
confessional, what does repentance look like?
Visible signs of sackcloth and ashes, in our
time, may be intentional prayer time, even before the Blessed Sacrament in
Adoration where we can sit in silence with our God to develop a more intimate
relationship. It may be the attendance at some form of continuing adult
formation to deepen our knowledge of our merciful God and how he uses his human
representatives (the priests) to communicate His forgiveness. And there is always
the Spiritual and Corporal works of mercy we can engage to bring God’s mercy
and compassion to others.
Breaking the habits of repetitive sin is a
process. While the Sacrament of
Reconciliation is the place to start. Reconciliation is a continuing process of
replacing bad habits, the occasions of temptations with new positive habits and
activities. Doing this is can be a challenge as our expectations might be, I
confessed, why can’t I change now!
St. Theresa the Little Flower has taught us her “little way”. A little way that keeps God at our center. It is a small and yet a great thing to offer our small sacrifices joyfully to Jesus throughout each day[2] that helps us navigate the seeming large stairway to heaven, or at least to find the easier way by finding the “elevator” door.
No comments:
Post a Comment