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Last week, we reflected on Christ’s glory, our mortality and our eternal life. We are called to be partakers of God’s divine life. Christ provides us the ordinary means for us to do just that through the sacraments. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions,” (Article 1131). In other words, the sacraments are not mere symbols or societal customs, but an outward sign of inward grace.
Through our Baptism, Confirmation and reception of Holy Communion we are received into full communion with God and His Church. Through our personal call to Holy Matrimony or Holy Orders we freely, faithfully, totally and fruitfully commit to serve God and His people. Through Anointing of the Sick the seriously ill are blessed with peace and fortified against anxiety, discouragement and temptation; and, through Reconciliation each of us are called away from our sin and back to intimacy with God.
When was the last time you availed yourself of the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
With our death before us always and our hope in the promises of Christ, the frequent use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation affords us the opportunity to be ready for our call home to Him! Try to find time this week to make a good confession and to do penance. During this Lenten season, parishes often host penance services and increase availability of the sacrament. Check your local parish for an opportunity near you!
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