It’s always so difficult to go into the
confessional with a list of my sins and even more to voice them – to own them
in front of a priest standing in for God.
While many have an erroneous view of the Sacrament of Reconciliation –
the sacrament really is one of healing.
Even after years of going to confession, the fear of being judged has
not left me- but in all the times I have received the sacrament I have never
been talked down by a priest. In fact,
the opposite always occurs. On Saturday,
after listing all my sins the priest took the time to encourage me to walk in
holiness his words are what I want to share today.
“You are a princess, daughter of the King of kings. Yet, the kingdom that you are a part of is
quite different from the monarchies here on earth. The way you practice your role as a holy princess
is to imitate Jesus, our King. The more
you own up to your princess role the more you'll try to walk in holiness. Now, Jesus came to serve and as princess you
also need to serve and to sacrifice for the good of others. So, study Jesus’ ministry and imitate him,
giving up what is sinful to become holy like him.”
I have often heard girls say I am a princess in the Kingdom
of God, but they always say it with pride which makes me not want to be
one. Some, use it as an excuse to behave
in a spoiled manner and I find that quite unattractive. Yet, when Father told me about me being a
princess – he never said anything about hoarding that title above others,
rather he said it required service and imitation of Christ. Sometimes we are no different from the
bewildered folk that Jesus ministered to when he walked the earth who wanted
a powerful leader to defeat the oppressors through great battles. In the same way, taking the title of princess
in the wrong manner can push us away from God instead of towards Him.
Confession, has never been easy for me- I don’t think it
ever will be. Even, after years of going
into the confessional and always finding healing- part of me is still afraid of
being judged. Sometimes, I think that my
sins are so new or that I am the only that commits them so I am probably shocking
the priest when I voice them. Many times,
I wonder if the priest thinks, “that’s a new sin I hadn’t heard that one
before.” Yet, I always pray for courage and
after I list my sins, the judgment never comes, quite the opposite. The priest always tries to encourage me to
strive for holiness. Some priests have a
gift for hearing confessions, like the one I came across on Saturday. He really listened to my confession and didn’t
use a formula to encourage me, but rather original words that were so
specifically powerful to me and my needs.
That’s why I am sharing this - the Sacrament of Confession is utterly controversial,
because sin is becoming relative in our society – but God knows how important it is to have a way for us to reconcile to Him and to our community constantly
here on earth. Yes, going into a
confessional is tough, but I am always met with God’s mercy and never His
judgement. He always heals, restores, encourages
and points me in the path that will lead me to eternal happiness. So, as they say - the pros outweigh the nervousness
and difficulty. Our Church tells us that
we should all go for confession at least once a year, but I have found that
going often is part of the path that will get us to heaven (smile).
No comments:
Post a Comment