Thoughts On Lent, Suffering, Sacrifice And Confession
Lent begins next week, and penance is its foundation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (see paragraph Nos. 1430-1439) notes that penance is part of the call to conversion – first of our interior selves, then outwardly through visible signs. I urge you to read these few paragraphs soon. They are available on the Vatican website (www.vatican.va).
A few humble suggestions before getting into a short story I want to share.
Whatever you give up for Lent, think about it every day and offer that sacrifice to God as a request for His mercy on those who have died. See CCC 1032 for more on that concept.
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet daily. It takes less than 10 minutes.
Do some good act daily that forces you out of your comfort zone. Leaving those friendly confines is, inevitably, a form of suffering and sacrifice.
Finally, and most importantly – from here, at least – go to Confession.
March 19 is the perfect day. Churches across the diocese will offer at least two hours of confession. I say it that way because it doesn’t seem possible to me that any of our priests would leave people in line at the end of two hours. The Light is On for You that day. Let it shine on you that day – and regularly there-after.
That concept – going to confession – relates specifically to the brief story I want to share. It’s intended for anyone who’s anxious about going to confession, no matter the reason.
Chapter One: It’s 1996; I meet with the priest who would become my pastor about returning to the Catholic Church after a 16-year absence founded – literally – in laziness. I never stopped believing; never stopped praying. Ultimately, missing the Eucharist brought me back. Inevitably, regaining what I’d missed involved going to Confession, which I did to that priest. I confessed face-to-face, in his office. It turned out to be easier than I expected, I suppose because he didn’t know me at all – at the time. We later became friends, and I consider him an important influence.
Chapter Two: It’s seven months ago, and I’m driving to an Evansville parish to make my first Confession since moving here – my new home – for this job. I was anxious about the whole thing for days … DAYS! “This priest knows me; he knows what I do, who I am.” It doesn’t matter who the priest was because I can say the same thing for every priest in our town. Some of the out-of-town priests may not know me so well … yet.
I was a couple minutes from arrival at the parish, on the verge of hyperventilating, when the voice I believe belongs to my Guardian Angel whispered something in my ear.
“You nitwit – he’s a sinner, too!”
Because we are human, we are sinners – all of us. The leader of more than a billion Catholics introduces himself as a sinner, and goes to Confession every few weeks.
If Pope Francis can do it, so can I – and so can you!
Remember what our Holy Father said shortly after his election: “God never gets tired of forgiving us. It is we who tire of asking for His forgiveness.” Don’t be tired like that – especially during Lent. If it’s been a long time, consider it one of those sufferings mentioned above. If you’re really anxious about confessing to your pastor – well, go to another church! Think of March 19 – or any day in Lent when confessionals are open – as a Catholic version of a famous Nike ad campaign.
Just … do … it!
Finally, please do one more thing starting as soon as you read this; and do it daily moving forward. Say prayerfully, “Thank you God for our priests, deacons, sisters and brothers. Help them to accept Your peace, to know Your will and to serve You faithfully.”
We salute them in this issue of The Message, and we ask you to join us in thanking God for them – and praying for them – daily.
