In the Catholic Church, the sacrament of reconciliation helps believers turn towards Christ's mercy, asking Him to intercede for our sins, giving us new birth in His life and death and resurrection. 2016 has been a special year for the Church, which celebrated the Year of Mercy.
Mercy is the message and hope we have in Jesus Christ. Sin cannot hold its ransom on us. Death cannot conquer our souls. We have hope in HIM.
To those struggling with Christian theology in the modern world, it can be easy to second guess this mercy.
Oftentimes in our secular worldview we fail to recognize inherent truths because they don't manifest in material matter. It can seem paradoxical that God would create a world where sin and death would even be a problem - would an all-loving God do this? We negotiate these questions with anger and disgust. Why would God allow death to be part of the equation to the point He let HIS only son die on the cross - just to save humanity? How does death save life? How does that make Christ merciful?
We all wrestle with our questions and demand answers from God. One answer that is absolute is that God is all loving and in that capacity HE too is all-merciful. It is easy to discount free-will as our problem. We prefer to blame others and to take ownership of the fact we 'are the way we are.' We tend to forget that to live in a sin free world we could not have free-will and that makes us robots. Love demands choice. It is the natural law and God's nature is love. He doesn't condemn anyone. We condemn ourselves by refusing to take ownership of the fact we are sinners and we need love. We need help. Sin comes from the absence of acting on love. Sin leads to death because it separates us from love and love is the power of life in Christ Jesus.
When we sin we actually do become robots in a way because we lack the freedom that comes from loving God. God wants us to explore His earth, to grow, to share our trials and triumphs...He loves us - He loves even those who go against Him, because He is our Father and no matter how far a child runs from the parent - the love remains.
The question at the liturgical year - is have you heard the cry of God - yearning to be in relationship with you? You are never too far gone to turn back to HIM. He is waiting and anticipating your return. He is ready to welcome you home? Will you take the steps and say 'Jesus Christ, Have Mercy on me, a sinner?'
So many people assume God is only a judge and His mercy is just an extension of harsh judgment. The fact God allows us to live alone, in spite of the horrid atrocities of mankind - is a sign that He has faith that we will return to Him - He is willing to be patient and to work in human hearts and hands to move His kingdom forward. Some will fall away, but God is not silent and is not a tyrant. He died for us on the Cross, so that we might live and have life abundantly. Sin is missing the mark on what life is: communion with God. Anything good comes from God. We are created with the divine spark of life - with goodness - if we are willing to just respond to His call.
God always is forgiving us - but unless we ask for reconciliation - we won't have access to that forgiveness because we ourselves are too stubborn to accept it. All the rules and regulations in the faith are not meant as hurdles to harm your ability to enjoy life - but are guideposts placed out of love because God understands human needs, our behavior and the consequences. He is helping us know the way to go.
One of the blessings of the Catholic Church is the sacrament of reconciliation or Confession.
It is one of the most misunderstood sacraments because our faith teaches that we can go directly to Jesus for forgiveness of sins. To go to a human intercessor and take their absolution seems counterintuitive, however confession is biblical and necessary to help strengthen one's faith.
An examination of conscience in reconciliation helps us face our sins and to have a person trained in doctrine and theology able to give some discernment about the sin. The true forgiveness does not come in the absolution from human hands, but the work of Christ who is present in the confessional.
When we go to confession we have to 'face' our sins and have an ability to hand them over in a way that allows us to feel a release of the guilt. Most humans have the psychological tendency to hold onto guilt and anxiety until we speak to another person about it. Christ recognizes the fact that confession helps the penetient to acknowledge their sins and to receive some spiritual direction on the issue. The priest is not the one forgiving the sin - that power alone belongs to Christ.
The scriptual basis comes from Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18.
"Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in heaven."
The sacrament of confession offers us a door to the light of Christ, a place where we can lay down our sins and admit to them out loud without fear, but with hope.
Confession has been a blessing for me as it has helped me to better understand what sin is and how it affects my life and others. At times I go into confession extremely guilty about something, only for the confessor to discern that my guilt is not based on real sin, but stems from my clinical depression and low self-esteem; whereas it can also lead someone who has a lot of pride to break the veil of being 'sinless' and comprehend - they are broken and in need of God's grace.
The act of saying a prayer of contrition - helps us to turn over our sin to God and ask for HIS divine mercy and counsel in our lives.
The confessor absolves your sins In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Anything we ask the Father in the name of the Son - Christ promises will be answered.
The confessor gives a penance to help draw us closer to Christ and to make amends for the sin as a sign of love. This is like a husband buying a wife roses for forgetting their anniversary. The wife might forgive the husband, but the husband wants to go the extra mile because they have such a deep love and desire to show that person they care. Most penances are simple and designed to help the penetient draw in close to Christ's mercy.
The Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be - are three penances that help us to stay faithful, reminding us of grace and our relationship with God.
The AMAZING thing about God's grace - He never withholds it as long as we approach HIM, through Christ in faith. Truly Christ is the king of kings.
From the Catechism:
1496 The spiritual effects of the sacrament of Penance are:
- reconciliation with God by which the penitent recovers grace;
- reconciliation with the Church;
- remission of the eternal punishment incurred by mortal sins;
- remission, at least in part, of temporal punishments resulting from sin;
- peace and serenity of conscience, and spiritual consolation;
- an increase of spiritual strength for the Christian battle.
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