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Gospel
accounts provide insight into reconciliation
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
The Season of Lent cries for serious reflection on the sacrament of
penance. Last week this column addressed two of the key elements that
make up the sacrament of penance: contrition and confession. This week I
urge you to reflect on an additional Gospel account that is most
instructive when it comes to the sacrament of penance.
Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my
possessions, Lord, I give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything
from anyone I will repay it four times over.”
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because
this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to
seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 18:8-10)
The sincerity of conversion is reflected in acts of penance. Acts of
penance, following contrition and confession, are the third step on the
road to the reconciliation celebrated in the sacrament of penance.
As contrition is based not only on what I do, but also on who I am; as
confession is not only a listing of my sins, but also an admission of
who God is; so acts of penance are not only something I do, but also
something that takes place inside me.
Penitential acts help me address the future as well as the past.
Zacchaeus came face to face with Jesus and his life was changed. He not
only made right the wrongs of his past (repaying them four times over),
but he also began to live in a new way by giving half of what he had to
the poor. By doing this he was not paying for his sin. Rather, he was
centering his life on God. In the same way, we do acts of penance when
we celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation, not to undo the harm done
by sin (we cannot undo the past), but to find a focus for experiencing
and reflecting on the awesome mystery of God’s active presence in our
lives.
In penitential acts, we realize another communal aspect of the
sacrament. As my sins cause broken relationships, the remedy for those
sins is found in healing the wounded, correcting what is wrong, and
restoring order to chaos. As my sins became bad habits, so my acts of
penance become good habits that draw me closer to God and my brothers
and sisters.
Acts of penance are a sign of my determination to turn toward God. They
foster continuing conversion and growth in holiness. They help me
develop and practice new habits and attitudes. They strengthen me
against the temptation to sin again.
We do not purchase salvation or forgiveness with acts of penance.
Christ’s death and resurrection paid the price for our sins, past,
present and future. Acts of penance are the fruit of contrition, the
living out of our hearts’ desire to be done with sin, and to love God
and our brothers and sisters.
Jesus said, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to
throw a stone at her.” And in response, they went away, one by one,
beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before
him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said,
“Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”
(John 8:7, 9-11).
God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his
Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among
us for the forgiveness of sin; through the ministry of the Church may
God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Absolution
from the Rite of Penance).
Absolution is the way the Church understands and grants God’s unwavering
forgiveness. It is the celebration of God’s healing touch. The prayer of
absolution reconciles us to God and to one another as members of the
Church.
To those who question the need for absolution from a priest, it needs to
be said that Jesus Christ is the visible sign of God’s reconciling and
saving love, who longs to say to each of us, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” He does that through the
Church. Salvation is mediated through the Church.
We do not decide how our sins are forgiven. God does. The sure means of
the forgiveness of sin, of healing and reconciliation is the sacrament
of penance. Having come from the hand of Christ, it is the way he wants
us to come face to face with him.
Absolution is the sign of God’s mercy, forgiveness and healing made in,
by and through the Church. The confessor extends his hand and the
penitent hears the words of Christ echoed in: “Go in peace, your sins
are forgiven.”
The penitent responds by saying, “Amen,” which means “so be it.”
This one-word response is our admission of God’s grace and our
acceptance of the gift of absolution.
The journey of reconciliation culminates in the Eucharist. As our
initiation into the Church in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation
is completed in the Eucharist, so too the Eucharist expresses the
completion of our reconciliation with God and the Church.
The sacrament of penance was never meant to be separated from the
Eucharist, Holy Communion. The process of contrition, confession, acts
of penance and absolution brings us renewed to the table of the Lord.
When we do it Christ’s way, there is great joy at the banquet of God’s
Church over the child who has been lost and now is found.
The sacrament of penance should not be the neglected sacrament.
But then, Christ Jesus leads us to water. He doesn’t force us to drink. |
