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The inner word

19 Jul 2015 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

According to the Letter to the Ephesians, Christ brings peace, gathers together those who were separated, breaks down divisions, and reconciles people with one another and with God. And he does all this through his death, which put hatred to death. What can you do to create unity with and among those around you—to make “one new person in place of the two”—even if this effort requires some sacrifice?

Unity reconciliation

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Sign & sacrament

05 Jan 2014 - Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Cycle A

Looking for a fresh start at the beginning of a new year? How about renewing your vision? That isn’t something your ophthalmologist can do with laser surgery. New sight goes deeper and penetrates the way we make decisions, prioritize responsibilities, engage relationships, and form new goals. Scheduling some time at a local retreat center or contacting a spiritual director for some new ideas might help. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is also available to relieve us of old baggage, as are 12-step programs and support groups of many kinds. You don’t have to do it alone! For more “Sign & sacrament” material, search the Prepare the Word database by today’s scripture reading, a particular theme, or a special occasion.

reconciliation

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Exploring the word

13 Jun 2010 - Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

FORGIVING PEOPLE WHO'VE hurt us is the toughest job there is. And God should know. God's been in the forgiveness business for ages. Nobody's been hurt deeper, longer, or more consistently throughout history than the ultimate Lover of humanity. No one's been rebuffed, denied, betrayed, ignored, derided, cheated on, or taken for granted more than God. So if you and I think we have a complaint that should stick, we might think again. If we insist we have justification for holding bound some poor sinner for his or her injury against us, we might want to consider the matter from a cosmic perspective. As Christianity tells it, forgiveness isn't offered to those who deserve it, merit it, or earn it. Forgiveness is held out to those who need it. And it would be the rare mortal wandering the globe who doesn't need forgiving for something. Even the church can't mete out forgiveness according to just deserts. Some folks balk that "you have to go to confession to a priest to be forgiven." That's not the theology of the sacrament. Listen to today's responsorial psalm: The supplicant believes his fault is removed, her sin is covered. This is why he or she is free to admit wrongdoing. It would be quite a gamble to approach the Rite of Reconciliation if it were indeed a crap shoot, if there were any chance at all that our sins might not be forgiven when confessed in sincere contrition. What if Father held out the option to hit the ejector button and send us sailing from the room? Yet that's not the case. The Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world. It's a done deal. The root meaning of forgiveness is "to be covered." There's no “maybe” about it. Forgiveness is available to those who need it. But just because something is available doesn't mean we make use of it. You often hear about unclaimed government benefits, uncashed checks from pension plans, winning lottery tickets never redeemed. Forgiveness is available, but a lot of us never step forward to receive our share. We stay away from the Sacrament of Reconciliation for a lot of reasons: We don't believe we're forgiven. Or we don't believe we've done anything wrong. We don't think we're worse than most people, perhaps better than some. Or we've stopped thinking about the state of our responsibility to be loving people altogether. Forgiveness remains ours for the taking—and for the giving. If we're willing to receive it from God, we may find ourselves more capable of giving it away to those who could use it. Related scripture links Judgment: Matt. 10:11-15; 10:40-42; 12:36-37 Judge not: Isa. 28:6; 30:18; Matt: 5:21-26; 7:1-5; Luke 3:17; Rom. 2:1-11 Catechism links Justification: CCC 1266; 1446-1449; 1987-2005 Forgiveness of sin: CCC 587-589; 1441-1442; 2616

Authors Alice Camille

Forgiveness rite of reconciliation

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God obliterates your sins

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Sacrament: Reconciliation ONE OF THE MOST remarkable things Saint Paul ever wrote was a single word in the second chapter of his Letter to the Colossians. The Colossian Christians were a little confused about their new faith, and Paul worked hard to explain who Christ was and what he had done. One of the most important things Christ had done, Paul said, was to forgive sins. To explain that Paul chose his words carefully—particularly the verb describing what Christ did with our sin. He “obliterates” it, the New American Bible translation says (Col. 2:14). Paul could have used other words with milder meanings—that Christ “cancelled” our sin or “crossed it out” or, simply, “forgave” it. But he very deliberately picked a word that conveys the idea that God erases all traces of our sin from the record. God not only forgives; God forgets, too. This is what will happen this evening in the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. We will bring our burden of sin to God. If we repent of our sin and ask forgiveness, God will lift our burden from us—and then God will forget about it. This will happen because God is who God is. As the psalmist says of God, “You are kind and forgiving, most loving to all who call on you” (86:5). God overflows with mercy and love. Tonight, look at yourself honestly. Consider the ways you have failed in your responsibilities, let other people down, cut corners, given into pressure, disguised the truth, lashed out at others, abused yourself. Look at all this without embarrassment—and bring it to God without fear. God will obliterate it. This is the miracle of God’s forgiveness of sin. But along with this miracle comes a great responsibility—the responsibility to do likewise, to forgive others as God forgives us. Along with this miracle of God's forgivenss comes a great responsibility—the responsibility to do likewise, to forgive others as God forgives us. Jesus often spoke of this duty to forgive. One day, Peter decided to question Jesus more closely about it (Matt. 18:21ff). He wanted to know where the limits are. He asked, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” We all ask Peter’s question. When do we stop forgiving the wayward spouse, the hostile in-law, the vindictive neighbor, the scheming co-worker? Jesus gives Peter a hard answer. He answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” “Seventy-seven times” is a reference to an infinitely large number. We never stop forgiving, Jesus says. To underline the point, Jesus tells a very tough parable. A king decided to settle accounts with his servants. One of these servants owed the king a very large amount, yet the king had mercy on him and forgave him the debt. However, the servant turned around and attacked another servant who owed him money. He refused to forgive the debt. When the king heard about this, he called the man back, revoked the pardon he had granted, and had him thrown into prison. The lesson of the parable is very clear: Jesus insists that his servants have a forgiving spirit. It is a very challenging lesson because it seems impossible to act the way Jesus wants us to act. The wounds that people have inflicted on us are not superficial injuries. Consider the abused child, the betrayed spouse, the person cheated by a business colleague or lied to by a treacherous friend. Perhaps it is possible to be civil to people who have injured us this way. Perhaps we can refrain from exacting revenge. But to forgive, to really forgive? To forgive and forget—the way God forgives? That seems impossible. But it is possible to forgive this way, precisely because we are forgiven this way. God does not forgive us because we deserve to be forgiven. We are not basically good people who have a right to ask God to excuse our infrequent slipups. We are sinners who are redeemed by a merciful, loving God, a God whose mercy knows no bounds. We can forgive those who have wounded us not because they deserve to be forgiven, but because the grace of forgiveness lives in us through the sacrament that we will receive tonight. This sacrament is called the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. The church added the term “reconciliation” some years ago to emphasize the way this sacrament restores the sinner to the community. Tonight, as you come forward to receive God’s forgiveness for your sins, pray for the grace to make reconciliation a reality in your own life. Pray for the grace to forgive those who have sinned against you. Pray for the grace to forgive as you are forgiven, the way God forgives you—the grace to forgive and forget.

Authors Jim Manney

sacrament reconciliation Colossians 2:14 Psalm 86:5 confession rite of initiation

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Bless me, Father, for I’ve downloaded an app

13 Feb 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Whoever breaks the commandments will have something to worry about, Jesus warns in this Sunday’s gospel. But those ready to atone for their shortcomings now have a mobile app to help them along. The makers of "Confession: A Roman Catholic App" say their software is designed to help Catholics prepare for the sacrament of Reconciliation and assist those who have left the church take a digital step back. The $1.99 application for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch is not intended to replace the confessional, developers said, but rather to complement the act of confession by offering a "personal examination of conscience" (password-protected, of course) and a step-by-step guide to the act of confessing. "Our desire is to invite Catholics to engage in their faith through digital technology," said Patrick Leinen, cofounder of Little iApps, developer of the confession app. And they’ve received a seal of approval from a church official. Little iApps claims "Confession" was created with the help of two Catholic priests and has been given the blessing of Bishop Kevin C. Rhodes of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana--marking the Catholic church's first known imprimatur for a mobile app. The app provides suggested acts of contrition and the "ability to add sins not listed in standard examination of conscience." Source: An article by Doug Gross for CNN.com

reconciliation confession apps bishop kevin c rhodes little iapps patrick leinen confession a roman catholic app

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Guatemalan church’s prince of peace dies

10 Jun 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday’s solemnity is all about sacrifice and commitment of the deepest order, sealed in blood. Guatemalan Roman Catholic Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada, who sacrificed much through his commitment to peacemaking and an end to the nation's long and bloody civil war, died on Monday at age 80.Guatemalan President Otto Perez declared three days of national mourning and ordered flags to fly at half-mast as a mark of respect for Quezada. “He was a great fighter for peace and reconciliation in Guatemala,” said Perez, who this year became the first military man to assume the presidency in Guatemala since the war ended.Quezada lent his negotiating skills to two organizations that tried to reconcile the bitter adversaries in the war, one of the most destructive to ravage Latin America. Starting his work at the head of the Commission for National Reconciliation in 1987, he also later chaired the Assembly of Civil Society, whose efforts helped bring about a peace accord in 1996—36 years after the conflict began.The war pitted leftist guerrillas against the state and led to the death or disappearance of a quarter of a million people. A United Nations-backed "truth commission" found that the vast majority of abuses were committed by the army, which ruled Guatemala for most of the civil war. Quezada's colleague in the peace process, Bishop Juan Gerardi, was murdered in 1998 shortly after the publication of church-backed findings on abuses in the civil war. Source: An article by David Alire Garcia for Reuters

guatemala civil war commission for national reconciliation assembly of civil society juan gerardi otto perez rodolfo quezada

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Confessing is good for the soul—and the collection plate

16 Dec 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

When the crowds ask John the Baptist in this Sunday’s gospel, “What should we do?” he answers by encouraging acts of charity and generosity. Apparently the Sacrament of Reconciliation encourages some generous behavior as well. People who recall being absolved of their sins are more likely to donate money to the church, according to research published in the journal Religion, Brain and Behavior.Researchers from the University of London's Royal Holloway college and the University of Oxford in England assigned participants two memory tasks. In the first,they were asked to privately recall a sin that they had committed in the past, while in the second they recalled attending confession for this sin or imagined doing so, if they had not rfeally confessed.Each participant was also given an opportunity to donate to a local Catholic church by placing some money in an envelope. For some participants this donation was collected before they recalled being absolved of the sin, whereas for others the donation was collected afterward.The results showed that recalling (or imagining) absolution strongly increased church donations, with the effect more pronounced in participants who believed in divine judgment and engaged in religious activities such as reading the Bible or praying.Dr. Ryan McKay of the Department of Psychology at Royal Holloway said: “The results of our study suggest . . . that 'releasing' people from their sin has a positive pro-social effect” (that is, it encourages helping, sharing, donating, cooperating, and volunteering activities). “This indicates that the Catholic ritual of Confession [sic] is an effective means of promoting commitment to the church."Homily hint: “Back in the day,” the Saturday afternoon line for “confession” was especially long in the lead-up to Christmas. Point out that genuine rejoicing is only possible for those whose burdens are light and hearts are free. Remind folks that the healing power of Reconciliation is very much alive and available to them. Source: A news release by Paul Teed for EurekAlert

reconciliation religion brain and behavior ryan mckay absolution royal holloway university of oxford Sins confession sin commitment to the church

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Confession out of recession

08 Sep 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

When Jesus speaks of the need to renounce possessions in this Sunday’s gospel, he also is calling us to freedom from everything—material or otherwise—that binds or possesses us.For centuries Catholics have turned to the Sacrament of Confession as a way to unburden themselves and find that freedom. Now an informal survey of Roman Catholic clergy based in cathedrals across England and Wales found that two thirds had noticed an upturn in numbers taking part in the sacrament, something many of them attributed to a papal “bounce.”The priests surveyed said there is a greater willingness these days than in the past for people to unburden themselves and talk through their issues, a reality which also has given the centuries-old practice a new relevance, including for those who might be put off by public worship.The Rt. Rev. Kieran Conry, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, said a more informal approach to Confession than in the past had also helped draw younger people—including increasing numbers who even attend with a smart phone in one hand, making use of a range of special Confession apps to guide them through the process.Homily hint: There is a reason Confession has been around as long as it has. When a practice touches a core human need, it endures. All of us wish to be reconciled—with ourselves, our loved ones, and our God. Encourage parishioners to give Confession another look. Source: An article by John Bingham for The Telegraph (UK)

reconciliation confession england kieran conry wales

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