April 18-19, 2020 - Divine Mercy
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We are completing the Easter Octave and on this 8th day we celebrate Divine Mercy. It is precisely the Mercy of God that has brought to all humanity the greatest gift, salvation, won for us by Jesus’ suffering, death and Resurrection. Our Lord poured out everything for us to bring us His mercy. If you have been praying the Divine Mercy novena since Good Friday and following the prayers of St. Faustina Kowalska then you have also been reflecting uniquely on the specific persons Jesus seeks to draw into His merciful heart. Jesus died for each and every human person. As St. Faustina’s revelation shows, Jesus’ great suffering was alleviated and He was consoled by those He knew would accept His mercy.
Are we accepting Jesus’s mercy today, and are we inviting others to accept Divine Mercy? These are important questions for each of us to ponder and honestly answer. There is only one way to have resurrected, eternal life with Jesus and it is to accept His mercy. Jesus offers us the opportunity today to receive His mercy through the sacrament of reconciliation. Yet, this beautiful sacrament is often misunderstood, underappreciated, and, sadly, infrequently received.
The official precepts of the Church hold us accountable to receive this sacrament at least once per year. Yet these same precepts state that we should receive the Eucharist at least once per year. Why are these guidelines so lax? Perhaps many are not surprised about the Confession requirement, but Eucharist only once per year, certainly seems strange. Most of us receive the Eucharist weekly, even daily. The Eucharist is the food for eternal life. We certainly want to receive that! These precepts should highlight for us one important fact—the Eucharist and Confession are inseparable. We really cannot rightly receive one without the other. Confession is the prerequisite of Holy Eucharist. We all want eternal life through Holy Eucharist, so we should all want Confession.It is only our worthy reception of Holy Communion that deepens our union with Jesus and makes us more ardent, focused and intentional disciples of Jesus, and leads us to eternal life. On the other hand, unworthy or undiscerned reception of Holy Communion can keep us hardened in a state of sinfulness. Confession and Eucharist are inseparable sacraments; Confession, or some form of repentance, always precedes the Eucharist. At Mass we reflect together on our sinfulness and make an act of contrition, to be ready for Communion. Making a sincere act of repentance prior to every reception of Holy Communion is critical; it is what makes my reception worthy!
When I am aware of serious sin then I make the time for sacramental Confession. An intentional, honest and sincere act of repentance before every Eucharist is the only way to worthy reception of Holy Communion. And only the worthy reception of Holy Communion brings us eternal life in communion with our Resurrected Lord. Thus if we receive Communion regularly then we should also come to the sacrament of Confession more regularly. Yes, the Church says that we have to come at least once per year, which is only the bare minimum. We are encouraged to come once per month, and more often if we are struggling with a particular challenge or sin.
Confession is the way for us to alleviate the suffering and pain that Jesus endured for our Salvation. Every time we come we bring Him great joy. He knows it is not easy for us. He knows we do not like to reflect on our sinfulness. He did not want to suffer and die, but He knew it was the only way for our sins to be forgiven and for us to have eternal life with Him. Let’s come to Confession more often...console Jesus...give Him our sins which He longs for... He already suffered and died for them!