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Week 5: Healing & Forgiveness
1. Reflection: 2 Corinthians 5:18 - All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation
NEXT STRONG EVENT: Wednesday, June 5 from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m. in the Sports Field.
2. Note from Father Roberts
When I was in eighth grade my parents purchased a new washer/dryer. We began using it just as football season began. The clothes that I wore when I played always got very sweaty and soaked through by the end of practice.
My mother disliked the smell that emanated from my hamper and was especially annoyed when I forgot to let my clothes dry out before I tossed them in, which she complained spread mold and mildew.
One day I decided that I would try to avoid hearing my mother's reproaches by doing my own laundry, which was a rare thing for me to do. When I tried to turn the dial of the washing machine, I was surprised that it turned with great difficulty and made a grinding sound while doing so. Moments after forcing the dial into the correct position, I realized that the new washing machine turned in the opposite direction from what I was accustomed to with the old one.
I had broken my parents' brand new appliance!
What would I tell my father when he came home? After putting four children through college and with a sister still there, money was tight. My mind began to race as I contemplated what consequences I might have to face for my boneheadedness.
Rather than wait for my parents to discover a broken the washing machine, I threw myself on their mercy and confessed as they walked in the door. At first my father was angry but after he settled down a bit, he said, "Now tell me exactly what you did."
I wondered what difference it would make, but I obediently did the best that I could. It was quite embarrassing.
Using the information that I had given him, my father was able to fix the washing machine in short order. The markings ended up being a quarter turn off, but it was nothing that could not be corrected with a pen and masking tape. The washing machine is still in use today, twenty years later.
When we sin we damage our souls, but not irreparably. Our heavenly Father invites us to let Him set us right in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Unlike my father, He already knows the exact nature of our wrongs, but waits for us to give Him permission to heal us by naming our wounds in confession.
In James 5:16 we read that the first Christians confessed their sins one to another in public. As Catholics we have preserved this apostolic practice in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
What a tremendous blessing!
5. Inspirational Stories3. Family Activity
A quick discussion: Discuss going to Confession with your family. You say it's been awhile? No worries! Here is something to help. Read more
4. Songs for downloading
Whatever You're Doing - Sanctus Real, Download it
Call My Name - Third Day, Download it
Lord I Need You - Matt Maher, Download it
Selecting to download will redirect you to an iTunes preview page for the song.
Video by Catholic speaker and former Notre Dame Football coach, Lou Holtz - Watch Now
From Catholic Answers: For sins committed after baptism, a different sacrament is needed. It has been called penance, confession, and reconciliation, each word emphasizing one of its aspects. During his life, Christ forgave sins, as in the case of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11) and the woman who anointed his feet (Luke 7:48). He exercised this power in his human capacity as the Messiah or Son of man, telling us, "the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Matt. 9:6), which is why the Gospel writer himself explains that God "had given such authority to men" (Matt. 9:8).
Since he would not always be with the Church visibly, Christ gave this power to other men so the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time (Matt. 28:20), would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations. He gave his power to the apostles, and it was a power that could be passed on to their successors and agents, since the apostles wouldn’t always be on earth either, but people would still be sinning.
God had sent Jesus to forgive sins, but after his resurrection Jesus told the apostles, "‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’" (John 20:21–23). (This is one of only two times we are told that God breathed on man, the other being in Genesis 2:7, when he made man a living soul. It emphasizes how important the establishment of the sacrament of penance was.)
Read the entire article
Act of Contrition:
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy.
Confession times at St. Alphonsus Liguori:
Saturdays at 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.
Or by appointment