Today we
forget everything far too quickly, even the Magisterium of the Church! Part of
this is unavoidable, but we cannot forget the great content, the great
intuitions and gifts that have been left to the People of God. And Divine Mercy
is one of these. It is a gift which he gave to us, but which comes from above.
It is up to us, as ministers of the Church, to keep this message alive, above
all through preaching and in our actions, in signs and in pastoral choices,
such as the decision to restore priority to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and
to the works of mercy. Reconciliation, making peace through the Sacrament, also
with words, and with works of mercy…
Let us ask
ourselves what mercy means for a priest, allow me to say for us priests. For
us, for all of us! Priests are moved to compassion before the sheep, like
Jesus, when he saw the people harassed and helpless, like sheep without a
shepherd. Jesus has the “bowels” of God, Isaiah speaks about it very much: he
is full of tenderness for the people, especially for those who are excluded,
that is, for sinners, for the sick who no one takes care of.... Thus, in the
image of the Good Shepherd, the priest is a man of mercy and compassion, close
to his people and a servant to all.
This is a
pastoral criterion I would like to emphasize strongly: closeness. Closeness and
service, but closeness, nearness!... Whoever is wounded in life, in whatever
way, can find in him attention and a sympathetic ear.... The priest reveals a
heart especially in administering the Sacrament of Reconciliation; he reveals
it by his whole attitude, by the manner in which he welcomes, listens, counsels
and absolves....
But this comes from how he experiences the Sacrament
firsthand, from how he allows himself to be embraced by God the Father in
Confession and remains in this embrace.... If one experiences this in one’s own
regard, in his own heart, he can also give it to others in his ministry. And I
leave you with the question: How do I confess? Do I allow myself to be
embraced?
Pope Francis,
Address to the priests of the Diocese of Rome, March 6, 2014
Reflection – As I have mentioned, I’m in
Orangeville Ontario this week giving a parish mission (thank you, all who are
praying for it – it’s going well). My presence here happens to coincide with
the archdiocese of Toronto’s ’24 Hours of Reconciliation’ – the day when every
parish will be open all day with priests available to hear confessions. So I
will actually be spending about four hours today hearing confessions in the
church here, along with the parish penance service tomorrow night to close off
the mission.
None of which I had in mind when I picked
out this talk from Pope Francis for today’s blogging, but all of which goes
nicely together. The sacrament of confession is such a beautiful thing, really.
People have such odd ideas about it sometimes—I'm thinking not of the truly weird and wacky ideas of
anti-Catholic bigots so much, but the normal perceptions of non-Catholics or
lapsed Catholics.
I suppose in the latter case people have
had bad experiences and this colors their perception. I must say that I’ve been
going to confession regularly for 40 years of my life with no lapses, and I
have never once been yelled at, sneered at, bullied, shamed, hectored,
humiliated—not even remotely. In fact, the only criticism I would make of some
of the priests who have heard my confession over the years is that they have been if anything
a bit laxist (the pope will explain this shortly).
But for the most part, the priests I have
encountered in the confessional have been kind men simply offering me the
tangible experience of God’s mercy in this unique sacramental setting.
Sometimes they have had a word of wise counsel, more often they have simply
given me the sacrament (which is the point of the exercise, after all).
It’s such a beautiful thing. You walk in,
kneel down or sit, speak in simple unadorned language the moral failures, the
sins, of the past week or month, express contrition, receive some mild penance
or other, and then…
And then Jesus, not the man, not the
priest, washes you clean. Not because you deserve it, not because you earned
it, not because of anything… he just does it. It is a miracle on a par with the
raising of Lazarus from the dead. You walk into the confessional burdened in
conscience to some greater or lesser degree. You walk out (Lazarus - come out!) as innocent as a
newly baptized baby, unbound, alive.
What a gift this is from God in the life
of the Church, what a treasure! How is it possible that Catholics have turned
away from it, make silly jokes about it, or get angry about it as if it’s some
horrible imposition? God, in Jesus, in the life of the Church, in the person of
the ordained minister, works here the greatest miracle, the greatest work of
power next to his creation of the universe and his raising of Jesus from the
dead – he restores life, health, and the grace of divine communion to a human
soul who has refused these goods. How on earth can anyone have a problem with this?
So… when’s the last time you went to
confession? Uhhh... isn’t it time you went again?
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