Diocese of Toledo, Ohio

Browsing From the Pastor

Making Time for a Regular Spiritual Check-up

   Many of us realize the importance of having the vehicles that we drive serviced from time to time. By doing this, our vehicles will be able to continue to serve us as effectively and as efficiently as is possible.

   We have been set free to be effective vehicles of our Lord’s redeeming Presence in the world. Even as we service our vehicles regularly, hopefully we will recognize and respond to an on-going need to be spiritually serviced so that the Lord might extend His loving Presence in and through us as fully as is possible.

   A uniquely powerful way of having ourselves serviced spiritually is by celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular frequent basis. It’s heartening to note the number of us who celebrate this Sacrament during Advent and Lent. It’s a long way, timewise, from Lent until this coming Advent.  

   Sad to say, our inclination to sin, or to hurt relationships by our attitudes, words, actions or omissions, wears us down. Spiritually, apart from having regular spiritual check-ups, we can be likened to a vehicle engine that is not firing on all of its cylinders.

   Let’s look at signs which suggest that we might benefit by having the vehicle of our lives serviced by participating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. First, any of us can all too easily lose the awareness that we are on a journey. This happens as we allow ourselves to become attached to that which happens in our lives in an unwholesome manner. On the one hand, when unfavorable and painful things happen to us, we can easily give in to discouragement, hopelessness and even despair. On the other hand, when things are going along well in our lives, we can easily give in to the illusion that we have security in this life.

   Another sign suggesting that we can benefit from celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation occurs as we sense that we have either too much or too little time on our hands. The Lord does not want us to live with the illusion that we have either too little or too much time.   

   We can also benefit from the Sacrament of Reconciliation as we become aware of a sense of sluggishness in our relationships with ourselves, with one another and with the Lord. This comes to expression as follows. On the one hand, we have good intentions. On the other hand, we lack the motivation to carry them out.

   Let’s look briefly at what we might become like as a result of servicing ourselves spiritually on a regular frequent basis in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As people who are freed to realize that life in this world is a journey, we will appreciate the precious nature of each day that is given to us. We will want to make our own the Lord’s priorities for us in our daily lives. As we pray and work to make this happen, time will become less and less of a problem for us. We will grow into the awareness that we have the right amount of this gift for all that the Lord would give to us and do in and through us. Furthermore, we will have the motivation to carry out those Lord-inspired intentions that come our way. Imitating the manner in which the Lord relates to us, we in turn will be proactive in reaching out to others in ways that enliven them.  

   Both for our sakes, as well as for the well-being of as many persons as is possible, I hope that we will want to have ourselves serviced spiritually by participating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular frequent basis. In this way, we will be doing our part to allow the Lord to extend His redeeming, upbeat Presence in the settings in which we live and interact with others.

 

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Nelson Beaver – Pastor

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