LITTLE HEAVEN

Reconciliation

                                                    By Glen Leo Mendonca, 

                                                                    Pastoral Associate

One thing that bothered me in the faith was the Sacrament of Reconciliation:
"The notion of confessing my sins was hateful to me. It was not a question of
unwillingness to confess my sins before another human being; it was in fact
an unwillingness to confess my sins at all. I could not admit myself to be a
sinner". Scripture is very outspoken in 1 John 1:8, 10 'If we say that we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and - - make a liar out of God.'

The more that I thought about it in my faith journey, the more I began to
admit to myself that I needed forgiveness and healing and with that admission
came a change of attitude toward the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When it
finally came time for me to celebrate the Sacrament, it was not the ordeal I
had expected. It was just the opposite. It was an experience of peace and joy.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation was instituted by Jesus (Luke 5:21-26) to
extend forgiveness and healing to us for sins committed after Baptism. 
Somerset Maugham, speaks for many when he writes:  'I have committed follies.
I have a sensitive conscience and I have done certain things in my life that
I am unable to entirely forget. If I had been fortunate enough to be a
Catholic, I could have delivered myself of them at confession and after
performing the penance imposed, received absolution and put them out of my
mind forever'.

Jesus shared His ministry with his Church (Matthew 16:18-19 and John
20:21-22) and empowers his Apostles to communicate his saving power to all
peoples of all times (Acts 2:38). Jesus' mission was to free people from the
tyranny of sins and to reconcile everyone to God and one another.

The best way to understand this sacrament is to view it against the
background of The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:17-24). The son does 4 things:
Examined, Repented, Confessed and made Satisfaction for his sinfulness. The
Father does four beautiful things Welcomed, Forgave, Restored and Celebrated
- the robe, the sandals, the ring and the festive banquet are symbols of new
life - pure worthy and joyful.

At the Liturgy of Reconciliation we do what the son did: review our sins -
examination, repent our sins - contrition, confess our sins - confession, and
make up for our sins - satisfaction. Consider what the father did: he
welcomed his son home, forgave him, restored him to full family status, and
celebrated with him. This is exactly, what the priest does in the sacrament,
He absolves us - thereby returns us to God and to the bosom of his family,
which is the Church.

My prayer is that the Holy Spirit touches our hearts to celebrate this
sacrament.

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