With Christmas falling on Monday, the whole Advent season is as short as it can possibly be – already, Christmas is just two weeks away. In some way this gives more urgency to Jesus’ command to “be watchful and alert” so that He may not come suddenly and find us sleeping (cf. Mk 13:33; 36). Advent is all about being ready to meet Him when He comes, and this readiness must be a spiritual readiness – we must be ready in our souls to meet Him, either at the end of all days, or just at the end of our own days. There are many ways to prepare to meet the Lord: prayer, reading the saints, studying our faith (and practicing it!), and performing spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Advent is a penitential season, too, so performing some acts of penance and fasting are important. But the absolute best way to be ready to meet the Lord is to persevere in readiness by remaining in a state of grace. At baptism, we were restored to grace, and given the task of preserving that state throughout our lives. However, we still struggle with concupiscence (“the attraction to committing evil”), and when we are tempted, we often fall, sometimes in serious ways. Scripture teaches there are two kinds of sins: sins that can kill the soul (“mortal”) as well as sins that do not kill the soul (“venial”), and we have the capacity to commit both (cf. 1 John 5:16-17). If we fall out of grace by committing grave sin, we can be restored to eternal life by making a good and holy confession.
The topic of sin has fallen by the wayside over the last 50 years or so. Now, we want to believe that, since God loves us, in the end it won’t matter how we lived because, well, God loves us. But in any relationship of love, there are two actors, and the same is true in our relationship with God. For His part, we proclaim unequivocally: God loves us and will never stop loving us. But the question remains: Do we love God? And if so, how do we show it? Jesus tells us we prove our love for Him by “keeping His commandments” (John 14:15). This means that when we break His commandments, we are denying Him the love He deserves, and this is what we call “sin” – a breach of the love we should have for God when we disobey His commandments. This sense of sin is all but absent in our world, and in the collapse of our sense of sin, the Sacrament of Confession has also fallen by the wayside; all talk of sin is frequently met with either indifference or anger or resentment, and so pastors of souls can be discouraged when trying to teach about this important reality. Talk of sin just isn’t fashionable anymore. But the fact is, we are saved by the truth, not by what’s fashionable – Jesus’ message of repentance and conversion was not any more fashionable 2000 years ago than it is today; but it’s a message that must be shared because we cannot believe in the Gospel if we do not repent (cf. Mark 1:15). Of course, sin is not the last word in the Gospel, and what we must always keep in mind is that repentance is meant nor for our shame, but for our freedom – the truth will set us free, and when we admit the truth of our own sinfulness, we are that much closer to freedom. That’s what Christ came to give us when He took on our flesh and shared in our weakness.
If we keep love as the focus, any resistance we feel towards the reality of our own sinfulness – and the need to confess our sins, for that matter – melts away. When we love God, we want to say we are sorry, because only love is capable of apologizing. If we feel no need to apologize for hurting the Lord, that may be an indication that our love for Him has grown cold. The best and, really, the only way to reignite in our souls the flame of love that has been extinguished by our sin is by making a good, holy confession. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been; it doesn’t matter if you remember how to do it (we will help you!); all that matters is that you go to confession, confess your sins, and be reconciled to God. If there is a voice inside saying: “you don’t need to go to confession”; “you don’t need a priest to forgive your sins”; “you can just go straight to God in your heart”; or any variation on these ideas; if there is anxiety or fear or pride keeping you from the Sacrament – you must reject all of that, because that is the devil tempting you to stay away from the very thing you need to receive eternal salvation. God is always calling us to conversion and repentance, so that by cleaning out all that is rough and unlovely and sinful and evil in our lives, He can make room for Himself, to fill us with all that is true, and good, and beautiful. Jesus gives us the Sacrament of Confession to achieve this, and His ways are the best ways, so let’s trust Him on this one. We have many confession times in our parish family each week, and this week on Wednesday (December 13th) we will be offering confessions all day at Saint Henry from 8am-8pm.
One “housekeeping” item: as you know, the 4th Sunday of Advent and Christmas are back-to-back this year, and so the question may have arisen in your mind: “Do I have to go to Mass two times in a row?” The short answer is: yes! Your obligation to attend Mass holds for both the 4th Sunday of Advent AND for Christmas Mass, so think ahead and plan for how you will meet both of these obligations. Don’t think of it as you “have” to go to Mass, but that you “get” to go to Mass. The truth is that we are blessed as Catholics to be able to celebrate the Mysteries of our Salvation at Holy Mass, and it is a privilege and honor for us to share in the Sacrifice that won for us eternal life. May God bless you in the week ahead, and may Mother Mary lead you more deeply into the Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus. I remain,
Affectionately Yours in Christ,
Fr. Hess
