Together, with Fr. Mike, we continue our examination of the sacrament of Reconciliation. Specifically, we explore the origins and structure of the sacrament that we use today. Fr. Mike emphasizes that although some of the ways we celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation have changed, the essential elements have always remained the same. He also explores the importance of understanding the differences between perfect and imperfect contrition. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1446-1454.
“In God’s will, there is great peace.”—St. Josephine Bakhita
For many years, Josephine Bakhita was a slave, but her spirit was always free, and eventually that spirit prevailed. Given what she endured, we would understand if St. Josephine had harbored anger and resentment toward those who enslaved her. She chose, however, to move beyond the hurts she had suffered and work to help others.
What are some things in your life you are holding on to that are weighing on your heart?
Take some time to ponder why you are holding on to those experiences or emotions. What are you searching for that is keeping you from moving forward? Is it peace, acceptance, forgiveness?
“Does forgiveness work? It’s a great question. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things in the world I find. It might come easier to you, but I struggle. And I suppose it depends on what you are trying to forgive. If it’s something you don’t care so much about, it pretty easy to forgive. But when you have been deeply hurt, horrendously wounded, monumentally betrayed, it can be incredibly difficult to forgive.
And the thing is, this isn’t theoretical. If you live long enough, you will be deeply hurt, horrendously wounded, and monumentally betrayed… and possibly many times.
So, as hard as forgiveness is sometimes, it raises one question in my practical mind. Does it work? Because if we can be convinced that it works, it will be easier to do that hard work to follow through.
Does forgiveness work? Yes, but it is critically important to keep one thing in mind. Forgiveness doesn’t change the past, it changes the future.
I’ll say it one more time, forgiveness doesn’t change the past, it changes the future. So, if you want your future to be better than your past, different to your past, more peaceful and less bitter and resentful, it might be time to think about who you need to forgive and what you need to forgive them for. Because the other thing I have learned about forgiveness over the years is that our need to forgive is usually greater than their need to be forgiven.
There is no future without forgiveness. That’s true in a relationship, in a family, in a community, on a team, it’s true for a nation, and it’s true for humanity. There is no future without forgiveness.”
“In God’s will, there is great peace.”—St. Josephine Bakhita
For many years, Josephine Bakhita was a slave, but her spirit was always free, and eventually that spirit prevailed. Given what she endured, we would understand if St. Josephine had harbored anger and resentment toward those who enslaved her. She chose, however, to move beyond the hurts she had suffered and work to help others.
What are some things in your life you are holding on to that are weighing on your heart?
Take some time to ponder why you are holding on to those experiences or emotions. What are you searching for that is keeping you from moving forward? Is it peace, acceptance, forgiveness?
—From the book Guided by the Saints: A 30-Day Journal for Inspiration and Direction
The Catechism provides an overview on how Jesus grants the Church the ability to forgive sins through both Baptism and the sacrament of Reconciliation. Fr. Mike doubles down on the revelation that there is no sin that Jesus can’t forgive—and no one is disqualified. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 976-987.
At no point in the Gospel does Jesus tell us that if we follow him our lives will be filled with success or that people will like us for it. Quite the contrary, actually! We follow a man who came to share the love of God with the world through healing and forgiveness, but was rejected by the religious elite, betrayed by his closest friends, and murdered as a common criminal. This is not simply Jesus’s fate many years ago, but ours today. “Take up your crosses daily,” he tells us. While there is nothing wrong with hoping for success in our lives, our faith is destined for problems if it becomes an expectation we cannot live without. The road of discipleship is filled with failure; if we demand that our lives be successful, we won’t make it very far.
God is always willing to give us a fresh start, and he asks us to do the same for others. But it can be difficult! Watch as Ben and Sarah seek forgiveness from one another.
