Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are twenty-three (23) In Brief passages in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and five (5) canons in the Code of Canon Law which can help us to appreciate the Sacrament of Penance. The following is a reflection on CCC, 1422.
There are five significant consequences of the Sacrament of Penance which we should consider, namely:
In the Sacrament of Penance we receive the mercy of God. Which of us does not want to be right with God? The signs on the side of the road may make us smile, but we will smile for all eternity in Heaven if we get right with God in the here and now. As Saint Paul wrote, inspired by God: “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).
In the Sacrament of Penance we receive from God pardon for offenses committed against Him. Even when we sin against the last seven Commandments of the Decalogue we sin against God who calls us to holiness. We show our love for God and neighbor by keeping His Commandments (cf. John 14:15). Jesus did not come to abolish the Commandments but to give us the grace to keep them, and the grace of mercy for the times when we fail to keep them (cf. Matthew 5:17). We are true friends of the Lord when we keep His Commandments (cf. John 15:14). We are His enemies when we spurn God and His Commandments. The Lord allows us and encourages us to renew our friendship with Him in the Sacrament of Penance.
In the Sacrament of Penance we are reconciled with the Church. Because our sins wound not only ourselves but also Mother Church we also have need to be reconciled with her. This happens in the Sacrament of Penance. We are called to holiness and to be “living stones” in the great edifice which is Mother Church (cf. 1 Peter 2:5). When we are well confessed, when we are in a state of grace, then we are living stones and are being built up in Christ (cf. Ephesians 4:12).
Our sins not only wound ourselves but Christ’s Mystical Body, Mother Church. While our sins damage, even possibly unto damnation, ourselves, they also wound the entire Church, of which we are each a part by Baptism. When we fail to live up to the call to holiness received in Baptism we set a bad example for our neighbors as well as head down the wrong path away from God.
Mother Church works for the conversion of sinners on three fronts: charity, example, and prayer. One of the “Spiritual Works of Mercy” is to “rebuke the sinner” not for rebuke’s sake, but to call back from errancy (cf. Psalm 141:5; Matthew 18:15 Saint Augustine, Enchiridion, 72; omitted from CCC,2447). The example of how many converted sinners (Saint Augustine comes to mind, among others…) call each of us to repentance and holiness.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr