A Call to Love
This was my homily (more or less) at Mass this morning:
I've been having some great discussions with folks the past few days about Confession. Some have been on the blog site and emails, and the other was Friday night with a group of parishioners in the hall. Some of the same questions arose, like, "I don't really do anything that it that wrong. Why do I need to go to Confession?". Or, "how often should I go to Confession?" When I said, ideally, it should be once a month, they said, "if I went once a month, I wouldn't have anything to confess".
I responded by saying that they should do a more thorough examination of conscience, and suggested that they look more closely at the Ten Commandments and seven deadly sins. But, what we hear in today's Gospel (the greatest commandment, Lk 10:25-37) is reason enough to go to Confession. "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself". Confession is all about mending our relationship with Christ. When we go to Confession, we humbly go to Christ and admit that we have not loved Him and our neighbor as fully as we should, and in specific ways.
None of us is perfect; we all fall short in loving Him will all our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Examining our consciences and going to Confession help us to pinpoint how we have fallen short. We become more aware of areas where we need to grow. In the Gospel, Jesus is telling us to be on the look-out for situations where we can love our neighbor. This might involve helping people on the streets or friends who are in need.
We are called to give ourselves fully to God and neighbor... to give everything to Christ. St. Denis and his companions (whose memorial we celebrate today) were called to physically give everything to Christ in the third century in France (as they died martyrs' deaths).
So, as we receive the Eucharist today, let us pray that Christ will fill us with His Grace so that we will give ourselves to Him. He gives Himself to us fully in this sacrament- Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. May the grace of this sacrament help us to give ourselves more fully to Him - loving Him with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths, and loving our neighbors as ourselves.
posted by Fr Greg @ 9:52 AM
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8 Comments:
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Dear Searching,"The Lord is near,have no anxiety in anything, but in all things by prayer and supplication,let your requests be made known unto God, and the Peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind in
Christ Jesus. (Phillipians:4:6
Also "BE worried for nothing, be not of a doubtful mind, consider the lillies of the field they neither toil or spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of them" (Matthew)
It's difficult to resist succumbing to our fears, our pains, our agony. It is difficult to relinquish control and fully trust because our imperfect human nature gets in the way......I've taken to keeping a rosary in my pocket. Sometimes just sticking my hand in my pocket reminds me of what Jesus did for me, what our Mother of Sorrows endured for our Lord, 'be it done according to Your Holy Will...not my will but Thine be done.' In touching the crucifix and beads I find I am able to relax, refocus, and trust....I also tend to put my hands in my pockets when I'm about to say or do something contrary to His will, so it helps there too!!
I kind of need a step before Confession. I am not ready to go to Confession and say that I have decided to 'return' and will try to go to Mass every Sunday.
Hey Kiwi,
Confession is no big deal if I can do it anyone can. No one is going to judge you and you really feel like you are getting a load off of your shoulders. If you don't want the priest to see you just go to the window side.
Quote from Mother Theresa "Realize your nothingness without Jesus. Then look at Jesus and give Him a big smile."
She has the simplest shortest quotes but they are so powerful. Another one "It is not great things done but small things done with great love that matter." This is an excellent one for those who are living out the vocation of wife and mother.
Kiwi,
Don't be afraid of confession! You don't even have to go face to face! It really is an awesome sacrament and it cleans your soul! It is truly humbling but exhilerating to forgiven as well!
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