day five ~ to reconcile…
Today I want to dig a little deeper into the whole idea of reconciliation. This is a topic Pope Francis has talked about a lot recently, especially during this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.
“Everyone say to himself: ‘When was the last time I went to confession?’
And if it has been a long time, don’t lose another day! Go, the priest
will be good. And Jesus, (will be) there, and Jesus is better than the
priests – Jesus receives you. He will receive you with so much love! Be
courageous, and go to confession.”
Pope Francis, April 2016
What does it mean to reconcile? The Merriam/Webster Dictionary states that to reconcile is to restore to friendship or harmony, to settle or resolve differences. The church teaches that reconciliation restores right relationship with The Lord.
If you think of your soul as a window, sin acts as kind of a blackout paint. Every time we sin, there is more black, therefore we can’t see Our Lord as clearly. There is a disturbance in the Force as my son says. The more we sin, the darker the paint. Mortal sin actually takes the window out of the frame, the train off the tracks, the computer off-line.
Confession is a gift given by the Church to help restore our relationship with Jesus. It allows us to get things back on track. It‘s a moment of tremendous grace and I have learned to love confession. I still get nervous and scared actually naming my sin. It’s hard for this proud woman to admit my wrongs to anyone let alone the King of Kings. But man do I feel good when it’s done.
Don’t allow the weight of your sin to keep you down. Let the Lord to release you from the shame and the hurt of messing up. Allow reconciliation my friends. It’s how the Lord wishes to love us. To forgive and to forget all the wrong doing and enter back into right relationship with Him.
It’s time to clean those windows.
Let Our Lady lead you to her Son. Ask for her intercession on your behalf with Jesus, to remove any fear from your heart and help restore that most intimate relationship with Jesus. What boy says no to his Mama? Not this one I assure you.
Pray with me won’t you:
Dearest Mother Mary,
I am scared. I messed up. I have broken my promises to your son time and time again. I need to make it right with your son, Jesus. Please be with me, pray with me, ask your son to smile upon me as I humbly come before him asking for forgiveness for all I have done wrong. Thank you Mother Mary for not leaving my side and for always encouraging me to come and lay my sins at the foot of the cross where your son paid the price for my shame.
We ask this is the name of your son Jesus,
Amen
