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The sacrament of reconciliation is an
opportunity for us to recognize our faults and failings ... A time
to hear the Lord speak to our hearts ... A time to ask the Spirit to
transform our lives!
The well-known Parable of the
Prodigal Son is perhaps the most strikingly powerful illustration of
the human process of reconciliation. It is a perfect example of the
current sacramental reconciliation process in the Catholic Church.
In the story, the father welcomes the son
back instantly … He doesn’t even wait for him to get to the house. And he
isn’t at all interested in the young man’s confession, only in celebrating.
This is not the way we Catholics have viewed the sacrament of
reconciliation. Maybe we feel that forgiveness comes only after reciting our
list of sins, agreeing to suffer a bit for them, doing something to make up
for our offenses, giving some guarantee we won’t commit the same sins again
and proving ourselves worthy to join the rest of us who haven’t been so
foolish!
But God really is like the merciful parent in
this parable: not out to catch us in our sin but intent on reaching out and
hanging on to us in spite of our sin. Reconciliation is not just a matter of
getting rid of sin. Nor is its dominant concern what we, the penitents, have
done. The important point is what God does in, with and through us.
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