Tonight, at the invitation of a brother Deacon from my 2008 class, I conducted an Advent Penance Service for the good people of St. Matthew Parish in River Ridge, La. It was a wonderful opportunity on both a human level and a spiritual level; remarkably these are but two of the five dimensions we experience in diaconal formation.
On a human level it was a joy to spend time with 2 classmates from my 2008 ordination class and 1 of our newest Deacons ordained just 3 days ago. The four of us were able to meet over dinner and share stories of ministry and service to the people of God.
The penance service began with an opening prayer for the health of our beloved retired Archbishop Hannan, an opening prayer focused on the gift of reconciliation and a reflection I prepared for those gathered together. While I did not write it out in advance, here is some of what I shared:
Advent is a time of patience, hope and joy. Last night I had the opportunity to spend time in Mass with our CCD children and I wanted to give them an image of patience, hope and joy. What I used last night, I think will work tonight: the New Orleans Saints. After all, to truly be a Saints fan over the years we sure need a lot of patience. From long term losers, decades of losing, patiently we waited for the winning. And boy did they win! We certainly needed hope, hope in something better than what we had, and we all know that we experienced great joy over that unforgettable night, 10 months ago, when the Saints won the Super Bowl. And as great as this was for all of us, as much joy as we all experienced; well, it's still just a football game.
Advent is the season of waiting for Jesus. As we wait, we are called to be patient, we are called to be a people of great hope and we must respond generously with total joy as Jesus indeed comes to us. But how does He come to us? Certainly as the babe of Bethlehem, he comes to us in our rememerance of his birth at Christmas. It is wholly good to commemorate His birth; but His birth is a actual event that did happen 2,000 years ago. Advent should be a time for all of us to await, with patience, hope & joy, for his second coming; not in our time but in God's. And Advent must be a time of recognizing Jesus coming to us all the time; in prayer, in each other, in the Sacraments, in His Catholic Church, in the Scriptures and most excellently, in the Eucharist. This is indeed a reason for great joy!
We gather tonight to celebrate our desire to be reconciled to God; to receive the forgiveness of our sins in the Sacrament of penance. When I reflect on the depth of the mercy of God, the forgiveness that Jesus brings, I recall the example of St. Dismas. Who is St. Dismas? He is the good thief. We all remember the story. Two thieves are crucified on either side of Jesus; one who reviles him, the other who begs for forgiveness. But first, the good thief acknowledges that his crimes are worthy of the sentence received. He goes on to state that Jesus is innocent. And he asks Jesus; remember me when you come into your kingdom. And responding with love and mercy, Jesus replies: today you are with me in paradise! What a wonderful loving and caring Messiah, what a Savior who comes to us to forgive us of our sins.
St. Dismas is special to me because he is a hopeful example to the men I visit every Wednesday at prison. Yes, I go to prison every week; but they do let me out. No over night visits for me. But I do love ministering to the men. You see I thought I would bring Jesus to them and teach them; but I found out early on that they show Jesus to me every time I visit. One night, I brought ashes to the infirmary and encountered this tough, hardened man in a wheelchair. He insisted he wanted ashes too. And for some reason, as I applied the ashes, I used the formula: turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel. As soon as I said those words, he shuddered, cried and told me that it had been 50 years since he left Jesus and 50 years since he heard any words of forgiveness. On that night he told me that he knew he was forgiven.
That forgiveness and mercy is available for all of us gathered here tonight. No matter what, no matter how long, if we approach Jesus as Dismas did; if we acknowledge our sins and rely on His mercy, we will be forgiven. And unlike those who reject the notion of confession, when we go and sincerely confess our sins, we hear those words that come from the mouth of a Priest, in the name of Jesus: Iabsolve you of your sins.
Tonight, make that good confession. Experience the love and mercy of Jesus. Prepare yourself for the coming of Jesus, at Christmas, when He comes again and everytime He comes to us in the present. This is even more exciting than the Saints and Super Bowl 44; it is a reason for great hope and joy!
And then we closed with an examination of conscience, the Lord's Prayer and a closing prayer. And then I witnessed about 75% of those gathered approach the confessionals. Praise God!
It was a great evening; every day God's love is made manifest in the ministry I'm allowed to do as one of His Permanent Deacons. My sincere thanks to my brother Deacons of St. Matthew Parish, the parishioners and Deo Gratias; thanks be to God!
Why Should I Confess My Sins to a Man?
ReplyDeleteIt is GOD who forgives sins, and once forgiven, He ceases to remember them.
The priest has been given the ministry of reconciliation. He mediates GOD's forgiveness to the sinner. The priest is merely an instrument of GOD.
As an analogy, think of GOD as the Supreme Healer, the Master Surgeon. He will remove the cancer of sin from the soul, while using one of His priests as the scalpel.
This GOD given ministry is shown very plainly in Holy Scripture:
Matthew 16:19, when Jesus gave the power and authority to Peter, "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Matthew 18:18, Jesus gave this power to all of the Apostles, "Amen I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven."
John 20:21-23, "He therefore said to them again, 'Peace be to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you'. When He had said this, He breathed upon them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained'."
Matthew 10:40, "He who receives you receives Me; and he who receives Me, receives Him who sent Me."
Luke 22:29-30, "And I appoint to you a kingdom, even as My Father has appointed to Me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in My kingdom; and you shall sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
2Corinthians 5:17-20, "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, GOD making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."