Lent. Time to go to confession. Or
to be more liturgically correct, time to “celebrate reconciliation.” There is
something to the change in the way we speak, and hopefully think, about this
sacrament. Confessing is something that we
do. We confess our sins. Nothing wrong with that, it is a good and salutary practice.
It is just that it puts the emphasis in the wrong place. In the sacrament all
the heavy lifting, all the major work, is not done by us but by God. God is reconciling the
world to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. So calling this the Sacrament
of Reconciliation, rather than “confession,” is just an attempt to recognize
what is really going on and who the main player is.
We call it a “celebration”
because God’s reconciling action is truly something to celebrate. We don’t earn
it. We don’t deserve it. It is a gift freely and generously and abundantly
poured out on us by God. We have to be truly receptive, that is we have to be
truly contrite and ask for it. God is eager and anxious to reconcile us, and
the whole world, to God’s self. And that is reason to celebrate.
So if it has been a while since
your last confession, I mean reconciliation, then I urge you to take
advantage of this holy season of Lent to celebrate this sacrament. We celebrate
the Sacrament of Reconciliation every Saturday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.,
celebrated in the “reconciliation chapel” just off the south end of the foyer
of the church, which used to be the old baptistery. However, during Lent the
lines on Saturdays sometimes get pretty long.
We also have a Communal Penance Service, which has a
little music, reading from Scripture, a short bit of preaching, and then the
opportunity for individual confession and absolution. Several priests are
always at these events so it moves along. Ours at St. Austin is scheduled Monday, March 23
at 7 p.m.
The University Catholic Center
(UCC), located on 21st and Whitis, has there Communal Penance
Service on this Tuesday, March 10, at 7 p.m. They also have Reconciliation on
Mondays at 12:30 p.m. and Tuesdays at 1 p.m.
Holy Cross Church has their Penance Service on March 25 at 7 p.m., St.
Ignatius Martyr on March 26 at 7 p.m., and San José on March 30 at 10 a.m. and
again at 7 p.m. So there are lots of
opportunities to celebrate reconciliation.
Pope Francis has recently given
some practical tips to prepare for this sacrament by an examination of
conscience. He lists 30 key questions to reflect on. You can find a story about
it and a list of some of the questions online at http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1500884.htm.
Pope Francis is always concrete and challenging.
Also, Paulist novice Mr. Patrick
Christ is giving a presentation on “Saying ‘I’m Sorry;’ The Power of
Confession” two weeks from today, on
Sunday, March 23 at 10:15 a.m., between Masses, just in time for our Parish
Communal Penance Service!
Wishing you a blessed Lent!
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