Why do many of us hide in darkness? Why do we prefer to conceal our sins rather
than face them and go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and speak about them
out loud?
It’s Jesus who meets us in the confessional, appearing to
us in the form of a priest who’s sworn to secrecy. In the John’s Gospel, Jesus assures us that He
didn’t come to condemn us. It’s safe to
come into the light where our sins are exposed (John 3:14-21).
However, we don’t like going to Confession when guilt is
driving us deeper into the darkness of low self-esteem, the fear of being
unlovable, or an inability to forgive ourselves.
Guilt is a good motivator for repentance, and regret
motivates us to change, but low self-esteem triggers shame, which says that we’re
undeserving of forgiveness. Shame makes
us even more afraid to face the truth about our sins. Guilt tells us we have done evil, regret
motivates us, and shame tells us that we’re evil.
However, God’s image of us is not poor: He sees what is
wonderful about us. He says we do
deserve forgiveness. He wants to replace
shame with joy. What keeps us from
repenting? Perhaps you would benefit
from a therapist or spiritual director who helps you heal from low self-esteem.
Whatever opportunity will help us get into the confessional; this is where our
healing begins.
Jesus completes the healing by curing our spirit with
forgiveness, mercy, and unconditional love through the words of absolution that
He speaks to us through the priest.
In the Gospel, Jesus points out that whoever lives the
truth (whoever is honest about themselves) “comes to the light” to be
rescued. When we admit our sins,
speaking it out loud to the ears of one of Christ’s servants, we are rescued by
Jesus. We hear Jesus minister to us
through the vocal cords of the priest, and we receive from Jesus the power to
resist the same sins in the future. This
power is called “sanctifying grace”.
My mother was a worrier, not just about her own soul, but
the souls of her husband and children and grandchildren and
great-grandchildren. To help her cope
with these worries, she tried to avail herself of the Sacrament of
Reconciliation as often as possible. She
told me that she went to one of the associate priests once for Confession, and after
telling him the length of time since her last confession, the priest said,
“You’re over 80 years old! You don’t
need to come so often. After all, how
many mortal sins can you commit at your age?”
It really upset Mom. So much so
that she went to the pastor and relayed the younger priest’s rebuke. “Hasn’t he ever heard of Sanctifying
Grace??”, he asked. He told her anytime
she felt like confessing, she should come to him from then on.
Repentance brings hope to the dry and seemingly barren
areas of our life, the ‘desert of our souls’.
We get discouraged and weak by
our sins and shortcomings. When the Lord
enters these places, we become strong.
In the desert you feel abandoned and alone with no hope. But the Lord will come and feed you with His
manna, the bread of angels, and make you strong again. This only comes through humility and
prayer. We make straight His paths by
saying “You must increase, I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
Why suffer any longer, hiding in the darkness of fear and a
poor self-image? Jesus has come to
rescue you!
*********************************
The Highs and Lows and Ups and Downs of the Most Holy
Rosary
The Sorrowful Mysteries
V. The Crucifixion
and death of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Brief meditation:
In this mystery, we contemplate Our Lord Jesus Christ dying on the cross after having given everything to
God. He raises His
eyes to Heaven and says, “Father, into thy hands, I commend my
spirit.,” giving to God the last thing He could. We ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to inspire us
with this scene so that we may be as generous to God, giving to Him everything
of ourselves and even at the end of our lives to commend to Him our very souls.
Scriptural meditations:
1. When they came to
the place called the Skull, they crucified him and
the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. (Luke 23:33)- Hail Mary…
2. Then Jesus said,
"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)- Hail Mary…
3. The ‘good’ thief
said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (Luke 23:42)- Hail Mary…
4. And about three
o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema
sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew
27:46)- Hail Mary…
5. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your
hands I commend my spirit." (Luke
23:46)- Hail Mary…
6. And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. (John 19:30)- Hail Mary…
7. Do not hide your
face from me; do not repel your servant in anger. You are my help; do not cast me off; do not
forsake me, God my savior! (Psalm 27:9)-
Hail Mary…
8. But I believe I shall enjoy the Lord's goodness in the land of the
living. (Psalm 27:13)- Hail Mary…
9. Wait for the
Lord, take courage; be stouthearted, wait for
the Lord! (Psalm 27:14)- Hail Mary…
10. But the souls of
the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall
touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and
their passing away was thought an affliction. (Wisdom 3:1-2)- Hail Mary…
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