Confession - A wonderful Sacrament

What goes hand-in-hand with a love for the Holy Eucharist is an equal love for the Sacrament of Confession. Now that may sound strange to some. It may sound odd to speak of a love for Confession, as going to Confession isn't always the easiest of experiences. None of us, I think,  if we were completely honest, finds going to Confession a breeze, even those of us who are privileged to sit on the other side of the grille. We have to learn, however, to develop a love for this Sacrament and to begin to understand just how valuable and how wonderful it truly is.

Once, when I went to Confession, prior to it actually, these words of Scripture came to my mind, the words spoken by Our Blessed Lord to Zacchaeus: "Today salvation has come to this house." And such is the reality. We experience in the most powerful way the salvation won for us by Jesus Christ every time we humble ourselves before the priest and confess our sins - at that moment, when the words of absolution are uttered, the power and grace of Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection is applied to our soul, our soul is washed in the Precious Blood of our Saviour, and salvation does indeed come to our 'house'. If ever we have been particularly burdened by some sins, we can be aware in an almost tangible manner of that burden being lifted from us, and, where we might have felt oppressed, our hearts become light and are filled with a joy which we know can only come from God.

It's sad, unfortunate, that many Catholics have abandoned the practise of regular Confession because in doing so they deprive themselves of these wonderful graces which Our Lord wants to share with them. Going to Confession is such a powerful experience of the love of God. I never cease to be touched by the miracles of grace that take place in the confessional, and how God touches the souls of us poor sinners. Going to Confession is, as Our Lord descibed it in the parable of the Prodigal Son, like the embrace of the Father extended to His wayward child - and there is no condemnation, there is no harsh rebuke - for the penitent sinner there is only the welcome and the warm embrace no matter the gravity of the sins. God is far more generous than we would be to anyone who would offend us or sin against us, all that God is interested in is the fact that this beloved child of His has returned, and with he help of His grace He wills that this child should then continue on that straight path to salvation.

When we delight in receiving Our Blessed Lord regularly in Holy Communion as food for our souls, we should delight, too, in being able to receive His mercy and forgiveness  - another great sign of His love - in the Sacrament of Confession.

The Awesomeness of the Holy Eucharist

The second Communion Antiphon of today's Mass reads: "The bread I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world, says the Lord." For some reason I found this particularly striking as I read it this morning. Perhaps what is striking is how clear these words make it that the Holy Eucharist is the very source of our life, and that it is in the Holy Eucharist that all graces and all strength for this Christian pilgrimage of ours are to be found. Here nothing is lacking, here is Life Himself, Who offers Himself for all and to all. What is striking is Our Lord's unbounded generosity - He sacrifices Himself to take away our sins on Calvary, undergoing incredible suffering motivated by the most indescribable love for His creatures, then He continues to offer Himself through the Eucharist, and continues to remain with us through the Eucharist as our unfailing strength and support. We can only be awestruck by the nature of God's love for us, and by this most precious of gifts that He gives us.

Can anything compare to the wonder of the Holy Eucharist and to the Real Presence? Even when the eyes of faith are enlightened by God's grace, I think we can snatch only a glimpse of the reality of the beauty of the Holy Eucharist and its meaning, we will always remain somehow impoverished in our understanding until we finally see God face-to-face, when the sacramental veil is removed. But what a joy to know that this Jesus is always here for us in the Tabernacle and that He comes to us daily to dwell in and feed our souls. If we live for anything, we should live to welcome Him into our souls daily - a privilege beyond description. If only each day, and each Holy Communion would help us to appreciate this gift more and to love our Eucharistic Lord more profoundly. Each Communion is already, in truth, a foretaste of the union we hope to have with God for ever in Heaven, where we will experience the fullness of His love without end. "O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine!"