From the outside...
Its funny, we never think about the way things look from the outside when we talk about our faith. We cannot understand why others are confused or don't understand. We just say it is right because we know our faith is the right one. We can't explain it, it just is right. Well, God recently blessed me with a wonderful opportunity. I was able to look and observe a beautiful ritual in the Catholic Church- Reconciliation and Penance Service.
If you have received the sacrament of Reconciliation- you know that this experience alone can be quite moving and freeing. The Catechism calls this sacrament one of conversion. The act of confession and penance literally converts our soul and brings us closer to the Beloved. It tears down the wall we as humans, full of sin, have built between us and God and allows him into our hearts. I get super emotional even thinking about it.
The experience of the service was different than anything I had ever experienced before. As a volunteer at the retreat, I was simply there to help, not participate. It was freeing in a way. I was able to sit at the back of the chapel and watch the event unfold. My job was simple. Make sure the participants knew where the Priest they had a candle for was located.
I watched person after person, hesitate, grab a candle, walk with trepidation to the location of their Priest of choice, go in, and in 10-30 minutes later leave with tears and smiles on their face. They were starting to heal. It was very moving.
As I sat in the high chair reserved in days past for the superior, I was thrust into imaginative prayer. God gave me the grace to see the healing he was doing through the physical body of the Priests. It was so moving, I was brought to tears. I saw his flock, broken and shattered enter those rooms and come out patched and bandaged, with a bit more spring to their step. I knew that when those emotional patches and bandages where removed, they would once again be pure and whole. I watched Catholics and non-Catholics alike being healed. I have NEVER seen something so beautiful and moving as this.
Something I intellectually knew, was confirmed and left me understanding more concretely. Do we deserve the grace of forgiveness from God? No- we sinned, we pulled away from him, and yet, he still takes us back and accepts our apology over and over. This is why this sacrament is probably my favorite. It does not matter how many times we are the prodigal son from Luke's Gospel, the Father always welcomes us home with open arms. I also was left with the understanding that while the process of healing would hurt, the penance was the balm and salve the wounds need to heal.
As a side note: If you have questions about why the sacrament takes place, or why as Catholics we believe it is important to go to confession, reach out to me. I know most of my readers are Catholic so I decided not to delve into it here.
If you have received the sacrament of Reconciliation- you know that this experience alone can be quite moving and freeing. The Catechism calls this sacrament one of conversion. The act of confession and penance literally converts our soul and brings us closer to the Beloved. It tears down the wall we as humans, full of sin, have built between us and God and allows him into our hearts. I get super emotional even thinking about it.
The experience of the service was different than anything I had ever experienced before. As a volunteer at the retreat, I was simply there to help, not participate. It was freeing in a way. I was able to sit at the back of the chapel and watch the event unfold. My job was simple. Make sure the participants knew where the Priest they had a candle for was located.
I watched person after person, hesitate, grab a candle, walk with trepidation to the location of their Priest of choice, go in, and in 10-30 minutes later leave with tears and smiles on their face. They were starting to heal. It was very moving.
As I sat in the high chair reserved in days past for the superior, I was thrust into imaginative prayer. God gave me the grace to see the healing he was doing through the physical body of the Priests. It was so moving, I was brought to tears. I saw his flock, broken and shattered enter those rooms and come out patched and bandaged, with a bit more spring to their step. I knew that when those emotional patches and bandages where removed, they would once again be pure and whole. I watched Catholics and non-Catholics alike being healed. I have NEVER seen something so beautiful and moving as this.
Something I intellectually knew, was confirmed and left me understanding more concretely. Do we deserve the grace of forgiveness from God? No- we sinned, we pulled away from him, and yet, he still takes us back and accepts our apology over and over. This is why this sacrament is probably my favorite. It does not matter how many times we are the prodigal son from Luke's Gospel, the Father always welcomes us home with open arms. I also was left with the understanding that while the process of healing would hurt, the penance was the balm and salve the wounds need to heal.
As a side note: If you have questions about why the sacrament takes place, or why as Catholics we believe it is important to go to confession, reach out to me. I know most of my readers are Catholic so I decided not to delve into it here.
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