10 October, Monday — Trying is Better than Doing Nothing!

Monday of Week 28 in Ordinary Time

Gal 4:22-24,26-27,31 – 5:1
Lk 11:29-32

When Christ freed us, He meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

We Catholics believe in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I remember reading a Protestant question that went along the lines of why do we need confession? And why do we confess through a priest? Isn’t confessing to our community enough?

Of course, this place is not a platform for apologetics. So, I will not go into the nitty-gritty of a Catholic versus Protestant theological debate.

But what we Catholics can testify to is the everlasting grace and abundant mercy of God that flows into our hearts every time we go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And after that, our peaceful hearts are so joyful over the fact that the shackles of sin have been removed from us.

I enjoy listening to the Spirit speaking through confessors when I go for confession. Especially confessors who have the supernatural grace to read our souls and know exactly what kind of help our souls need. Sometimes, we need mercy, but sometimes we may need a good admonition.

But more importantly, St Paul exhorts the importance of standing firm and not yielding again to sin.

I remember a habitual sin that I would commit frequently. Initially, I was scared of confessing that sin because I was so afraid that the confessors would deny me absolution if he knew that it was my umpteenth time committing that same sin. Thankfully, our priests have been merciful enough to not banish my presence out of the confessionals. But eventually, I found it repetitive and boring to commit the same sin, and I was wondering if I should stop confessing that sin.

But while Christ meant for us to remain free, He did not say that we would go to hell if we commit that sin again. We only need to repent — again and again. Just as the words of our Act of Contrition read, “I will try my best not to sin again”, Jesus recognises our fallible nature. So, we have to try to not commit whatever habitual sins that we may be struggling with and be docile to the Spirit’s prompting, to repair the rift between our souls and Christ quickly, for we must listen to His word and not harden our hearts.

With Advent round the corner, how about making a resolution to go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation more regularly?

(Today’s OXYGEN by Brenda Khoo)

Prayer: Dear Lord, please help us to have the courage and contrition to go for confession regularly and repair our relationship with You quickly. Amen.

Thanksgiving: Dear Lord, thank you for giving us Your abundant mercy and grace through the beautiful Sacrament of Reconciliation. Amen!