On any given day, there are a number of things that we are asked and expected to do. Sometimes, we can wear ourselves out just by thinking of all of the things that we might be doing.
When my sister, Marilyn, and I were growing up, we begged our parents from time to time for our family to go on a picnic. Needless to say, there’s a lot of work involved in preparing to go on a picnic. It’s easy for any of us to say that we could get all of the nourishment that we need by eating at home. If it weren’t for the persistent begging of my sister and myself, I doubt that our family would have had the number of picnics that we had. Our parents took us on picnics because of their love for us. Once our parents made the effort needed to go on a picnic and when we arrived at our destination, I sense as I look back, that they enjoyed the event as much as we did. They were grateful for the opportunity to make us kids happy.
For many of us, a practice that is not attractive is that of participating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is not pleasant to look back over our lives from time to time, to become aware of and to acknowledge that we have hurt ourselves, others, the environment and the Lord. Even though in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the priest represents Christ in a distinctive way, the priest is also a human being. It’s hard for any of us to admit to another person that we have failed in our relationships. I share this sentiment. As a priest, I need to celebrate this Sacrament on a regular frequent basis myself.
Even as in life itself, we undertake tasks that in and of themselves are not pleasant for the sake of one(s) whom we love, why not do this in regard to celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Doing this myself increases my motivation to receive this Sacrament regularly. I celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation not only for my own sake, but also for the sake of a particular person or persons who I plan to see during the coming week. Preparing for my get togethers with specific others by celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation helps me to relate to the persons whom I anticipate seeing as Christ wants me to relate to them.
Isn’t the greatest gift that we can give to others that of offering our best selves to them in the Lord? Perhaps, along with myself, you have come to discover that when we work with the Lord’s strength to love specific others as the Lord wants us to do this that this affects our attitude toward persons in the communities in which we live. We grow in the ability to love persons in the settings in which we live and interact with others as a result of growing in our Christ-like concern for specific persons in the groups to which we belong.
What a blessing it is that the Lord puts into our lives persons with whom we hit it off well. It is for the sake of loving these persons in a fuller way that we can resolve to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular frequent basis. As we experience growth in our relationships with specific others for whom we have resolved to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we will be grateful for the discomfort that is involved in celebrating this Sacrament. We will notice that not only will our love and affection grow for the ones for whom we go to confession, we will experience that our capacity to receive and to extend that love of which our Lord is the Source will expand to more and more persons in the Church and in the larger community in which we all live.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Nelson Beaver – Pastor