Sacrament of Reconciliation!

I began a series in my three parishes on the First Sunday of Lent on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Now is the time to fall in love again with this sacrament, to be renewed by the grace, healing, and strength that comes with it. The readings from that first Sunday were a perfect beginning: the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve and Jesus being led by the Spirit into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights. The illustration that I used was a classic. It came from one of my favorite church people, the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Archbishop Sheen said, "I once gave a retreat in a maximum security prison, where there were 1,979 inmates. All of them though, of course, that I had on a white hat and they had on black hats, that I was good and they were bad. How could I begin? Well, I began by saying, 'Gentleman, I want you to know that there is one great difference between you and men. You got caught, I didn't.' In other words, we are all sinners" (Through the Year with Fulton Sheen, 54). That gives us something to think about because we are all sinners in need of God's mercy and forgiveness. This is where we need to begin, recognize that we are sinners and then approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation to receive forgiveness and healing and get back on the right path to living holy and faithful lives. Blessings to you this day!!!