An unemployed man unsuccessfully tried to find work. His wife nagged him for his failure. He explained that he was trying his best and he needed the understanding and support she promised to give him in their marriage vows.
This led to a heated argument, and he stormed out of the house. As he walked past his parish church, he recalled that confessions were being offered. He stopped, confessed his sins, and received absolution. As he left the confessional, to his surprise, his wife was the next penitent. This moved him deeply.
He purposely spent extra time doing his penance as he waited for his wife. When she finished, they embraced and asked each other’s forgiveness. The Sacrament of Reconciliation helped them to be reconciled with both God and each other.
Love one another
In John 13: 34-36, Jesus tells his apostles, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
God created us in his image. Since God is love, we image God best when we love. But our ability to love was wounded by original sin.
God the Father sent Jesus to teach us how to love and die on the cross for our sins which keep us from loving. Jesus loves us so much that he would have died for even one of us.
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Then he rose from the dead, returned to heaven, and sent the Holy Spirit to help us follow him to heaven. Jesus knew that we, his followers would sin by failing to love God and others; so, on Easter evening he gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Pope Francis urges us to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent, because it is the sacrament of conversion. During Lent, we open ourselves to deeper conversion by embracing a penance that helps us renew our baptismal promises at Easter with deepened faith.
In no. 1459 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church it says, “Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible to repair the harm: e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders that sin has caused.
“Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for sins. He must make satisfaction to expiate his sins. This satisfaction is also called penance.”
Making reparation
Fr. Joseph Krempa stated that sometimes we may find ourselves confessing the same sins repeatedly. He suggested that maybe this is because “we have omitted the responsibility we have to repair the damage we have done and make reparation. If we are truly sorry and want to make reparation, we need to do repair work. If we don’t, the guilt, even though confessed, eats away at our soul. When some people say they cannot forgive self, it might be because the repair work called reparation is missing.”
In 1973, Karl Menninger, a famous psychiatrist, surprised many when he wrote a book entitled, Whatever Became of Sin? Menninger wrote, “The very word ‘sin,’ which seems to have disappeared, was once a strong word. It described a central point in every civilized human being’s life plan and lifestyle. Doesn’t anyone sin anymore?”
Sin is an offense against God and neighbor. Sin hurts people. Every sin we commit hurts someone, including ourself.
Let us receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent so we can renew our baptismal promises at Easter with deepened faith and renewed fruitful forgiveness as Pope Francis urges.
Fr. Donald Lange is a pastor emeritus in the Diocese of Madison.