Jesus Christ is coming to a parish near you this Lent, and He really wants to see us there.
Since the beginning of Lent, I've seen several Penance services scheduled for my diocese advertised in my parish bulletin. Being a rock music fan since childhood, I compared this invitation, St. Matthew, March 29; St. Ann, April 3, to a concert tour and called it “The Merciful Mystical Tour.” However, instead of Jesus Christ Superstar, get ready to encounter God's mercy acting through our local parish priests.
I had an opportunity to attend Mass on Ash Wednesday this year, and when the deacon signed my forehead with ashes his words were: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” That's stayed with me since, and I've made one of my Lenten resolutions to avail myself of all the means the Church provides us to avoid sin and do good.
Earlier this month, I was invited to answer some questions at an eight-grade religious education class at my parish. The first question I answered was “Why do we need to confess our sins to a priest?” I congratulated the young man's courage for formulating a question that I'm sure thousands of church-going Catholics frequently ask themselves. I gave the class the standard Gospel answer. After Jesus resurrected, He breathed the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and said, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained,” (Jn 20:22-23). After I went home that evening though, I thought the answer I should have given them was, “We need to confess our sins to a priest for the same reason we go to Mass to receive the Eucharist consecrated by a priest.” All priests are ordained to be “other Christs” to God's people.
As a seminarian, I attended a newly-ordained priest's first Mass of Thanksgiving. Since he was a good friend of mine, I approached him shortly before the beginning of the ceremony and asked him to hear my confession. He agreed to it, but when it came time to give me absolution, my priest friend couldn't remember the prayer of Absolution and didn't have the formula handy at the time. I told him I knew the prayer by heart because in those days I used to go to Reconciliation weekly. “Repeat after me Father,” I said. “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 sins. . .” “Through the ministry of the Church, may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins. . .” The Holy Spirit revealed to me then that even though I knew the prayer, it's not only the words said, but who says them. A priest acts in the Person of Christ, and it's Christ working through the priest who forgives sins.
Confession is good for the soul, and I believe the Church in her wisdom recognizes that we may have reservations about confessing our sins to the same man we shake hands with at the end of Sunday Mass. The Merciful Mystical Tour is a perfect opportunity to choose the priest we want to go to reconcile our hearts with to Our Father. Jesus in his priests has many faces; some are young and some are gray. However, it's the same Jesus that says, “Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace.”
