Last year, as the primary educator of my children, I received permission from my parish to teach my son his Sacramental preparation at home. Working closely with what our parish required, my husband and I taught our son about the Sacraments of Confession and Communion, preparing him to receive them. As it turned out, this special opportunity became a gift for our entire family.
As I taught my son about the Sacrament of Confession, I was reminded of its incredible beauty and power. Yet the greatest lesson was not something I taught my son; rather, it was what he taught me: the joy of participating in the sacramental life. His overwhelming excitement to receive this Sacrament, especially on the day of his First Confession, reminded me what a pure gift the reception of God’s mercy is. I will never forget his smile when he left the confessional for the first time. He was beaming!
When I brought him to receive this Sacrament for the second time, as we stood waiting in the line, the woman behind us commented on how she had been nervous about going to Confession. She explained that her anxiety went away by watching my son, and his smile and eagerness made her yearn to receive the graces found in the confessional.
With childlike hearts, we, too, can approach and leave the confessional with joy. My son knows that no sin is too big for God’s mercy. He knows that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who is always waiting for him after each and every sin. He knows that God’s Merciful Love is the strongest, most beautiful reality. He knows that he is loved and totally forgiven when he is absolved. He knows that no matter which priest he meets or in what state he finds him in the confessional—grumpy, joyful, tired, or energetic—the reality is that he is forgiven by Jesus Christ Himself. He knows that returning in humility to Christ is joy, and that freedom from sin is joy. He knows that when he sins and goes to Confession, that he gives Jesus His greatest joy, the joy of being his Savior.
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Our world needs the joy found in the confessional. Our souls need it. We are not called to mediocrity; we are called to be Saints. We are called to cast our nets into the deep—throwing aside our sinfulness in exchange for the great, abundant, overwhelming catch of grace, of joy. Do not let fear, anxiety, or pride stop you from confessing your sins and receiving absolute forgiveness. Rather, turn to Jesus, who is Merciful Love, and ask Him to accompany you to begin life anew, to draw you out of the depths, to help you conquer the death of sin, to break the chains, and to become His joy for the world.
Within the Sacraments we find Jesus; we become united to Him. We enter into the fullness of life here on earth with Him. His life animates our own as He makes His home at our center. The fruit of the sacramental life is living a life of mercy, love, and deep joy. By frequenting the Sacraments we strengthen that Christocentric union and we will soon realize that nothing here on earth will fill us as the Sacraments do. Christ anchors us in reality, and the Sacraments are our physical and spiritual connection to His reality, the greatest gift and treasure we have on earth.
The Father’s Merciful Love for us is so deep that it even anticipates our repentance. He is waiting for us. Each time we pick ourselves up after a fall, every time we return to Him, the feast of the prodigal son is renewed. When we choose to return to Him each time we fall, our very sin is an occasion to experience His Merciful Love; “From misery to misery we go from mercy to mercy.” (source)
Let us together return to the Sacrament of Confession, the Sacrament of mercy, and in doing so, return to Jesus, our joy.
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