RECONCILIATION
Penance
Confession
How the above words strike terror in so many people's hearts!
The proper word for the sacrament is RECONCILIATION because
it encompasses all of the parts of the sacrament. Confession is but one part,
penance is but another part; but the true understanding is revealed in the word
reconciliation.
We have many differing memories of reconciliation: Most
of us have experienced "the box"! Open the door, kneel down, wait
for the screen to open and start with "bless me father..." Many of
us have experienced "face to face", where we sit down, bow our heads,
revert to the fetal position and shamefacedly begin our list.
We've experienced "good" priests and "not
so good" priests in the sacrament.
Let's take a moment to examine the experiences...
There is a certain comfort in the anonymity of the
confessional box/screen. Admittedly it is tough to admit our faults and sins
and shortcomings to another person, to say we're sorry and to say out loud that
we shall try NOT to do those things again. To hear words of absolution/forgiveness
is such a blessing!
The face to face experience is a little more daring:
to look someone in the eye and to have the priest know our sins and our FACE
- oh, my... Is he going to remember all that I've done wrong???
Then there's the uncertainty of how the priest is going
to react... Is he liberal or conservative with God's forgiveness (is he in a
good mood or bad mood??) - who knows?
So many variables!
SO what is this sacrament all about???
We sin - we are sinners. We hurt one another on a daily
basis, we forget to help, we omit works of love and charity, we close our hearts
to God's love and the love of others, we hesitate in allowing spiritual growth.
How do we get out of these situations? We talk things out, we pray, we ask forgiveness,
we give forgiveness. Not easy stuff! But our God has put us on the face of the
earth together, to lean on one another, to learn from one another. Our God has
given us Jesus Christ as the model of how we are to live and love and treat
one another.
Jesus - the model of all human life - taught us how
to forgive. He went to the cross to show us how forgiven we are. How much more
could God have done than to die for us to show us his love and forgiveness?
As a divine human, Jesus showed us that forgiving and
being forgiven is what life is all about. He freed people of their sins because
we need to be freed and we, in turn, need to free others. That's what reconciliation
is all about!
As we approach the sacrament, we have to shed some
old ideas of the sacrament and embrace some new ones. The sacramental experience
is one of freedom.
During a communal celebration of Reconciliation we gather
in song and prayer. We hear God's teaching Word, we examine our consciences,
we reflect on our shortcomings and sins. We then approach one of the priests
(all the priests we invite here are kind and loving...) we speak our sins out
loud and we hear the comforting words of forgiveness/absolution. We are assigned
"homework" or penance and gladly do it to respond to God's love and
forgiveness.
HOPEFULLY we also celebrate how God has already
moved us away from our sins and brought us to light. How a priest longs to hear
the accomplishments of God in your life! I, as a priest, can and do forgive
the "ongoing" sins; but, it is so good to hear what you have already
stopped doing: "Oh, Father, I used to do ___________, but through prayer
and the grace of God, I stopped doing ___________ and I feel so GOOD! I am a
more loving person, I'm calmer, I'm kinder, GOD'S WORKING in my life!"
[implied: I have sinned, God has worked, I've made amends, I feel closer to
God and others, LET'S CELEBRATE!]
So, yes, we confess our sins, we do our penance, but
it is the fullness of BELONGING and being whole that we celebrate in reconciliation.
We drop the baggage, the hesitations, the anchors that keep us from being one
with God and each other. We celebrate the oneness that occurs as we are forgiven.
That's the celebration.
I could go on for pages and pages on this neglected
sacrament. Reread the story of the Prodigal Son / Forgiving Father in the
Gospel of Luke 15:11-32; read it with new eyes of understanding; read it as though
you never read the story before. See what happens and make a leap of faith!
