Sunday, September 22, 2013

The mystery of repentance

Allegri's haunting setting for Psalm 51, David's great plea for repentance. It is an almost perfect expression of the heart's repentance. If at the Cross we encounter beauty itself--for the Cross is the revelation of divine love--then we encounter this beauty in the profoundest of ways when we open ourselves in repentance to this love. In our Confession, Calvary becomes present.


Let us examine ourselves. How have we offended Christ? Where do we need forgiveness? And in our joyful sorrow, let us turn to the Church's great gift to us, sacramental Confession. Our Lady will give us the strength to draw near to our Lord and beg his forgiveness. And we can be confident that he will grant it to us--not because we deserve it, but because Christ graciously wills it.

Recently Pope Francis reminded us that, "The confessional is not a torture chamber, but the place in which the Lord’s mercy motivates us to do better."
And as Mother Teresa would say, Confession makes us sinners without sin. 

How beautiful--to be a sinner without sin! 

We begin again, a new life.  


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