You can Make Your Act of Contrition Now

This has been the week of confessions and meetings.  I usually keep an alb and stole in the backseat of my car anyway; but these last few day especially.  For those who think that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is all but dead, we still have healthy crowds at the various localities - and not just old people.  For many there is an understanding that the brokenness and hurt they experience in their daily living has some deeply spiritual roots.

On Tuesday I was at the local Catholic High School.  My brother priest, who presided and preached, gave a most excellent homily.  Referring to a terrible act of violence that had occurred at the school nearly fifteen year prior, he explained how and why this was a sinful and evil situation.  Sin is real.  He also spoke about the mother who had endured the violent death of her son, who was able to forgive the perpetrator .  At the crux of his message was that Sin can and does affect communities, and if left to fester, can cause grave and long-lasting harm.  Reconciliation begins the process of healing and peace.

There was an article in Time or Newsweek some years ago reporting on how apologies were becoming part of  business practice.  And there are actually companies that can come in and coach corporate leadership as to how to properly make a public apology.  While this sounds all nice and good, for us of faith we recognize that part of the 'confession' process is also making contrition.

To make the statement, "I firmly resolve with the help of your your grace to sin no more and to avoid the occasion of sin," is committing ourselves to a process of seeking reconciliation and transforming our lives.  When we were little we were taught how to go through a list of sins, compose and confession, and memorize an Act of Contrition.  As adults we maintain a similar process.  The only problem is we forget that we should be working at growing closer to God and one another, finding healing and peace through this process, and rejecting Sin and Evil in our lives.

The whole of the sacrament cannot rest on a mechanical protocol of listing wrongs we have done, but has to be centered on restoration of relationships which we have with God and with others.  I think that people fear the sacrament because they believe they are going to 'be in trouble.'  If we approach the sacrament with the mentality that we are broken and need to be healed, then we can spend some time with expounding upon where we 'hurt' and come to appreciate what we need to do to be healed.

Maybe its time to throw away the second grade examination of conscience.  We might want to be more like the blind man in the Gospel who cries out, "Jesus Son of David, have pity on me."  Then Jesus will touch our senses and make us whole once again.