Being Sorry and Penance
Last month you learned about sin and social sin. We all sin and screw-up from time to time. When we leave the safety of our Father's fenced in pasture we will always be welcomed back, but we need to be sorry for what we've done. We also need to make right our wrong, this is called penance.
When my children were very young and one of them offended the other I didn't just ask them to say, "Sorry," I also asked them to 'make it better.' What they did to 'make it better' depended on what it was they did wrong. If one of my children knocked over the other's block tower they would have to say, "I'm sorry", but they would also have to help fix the tower. Fixing the tower was their penance. It wasn't enough to just tell the other person they were sorry, they needed to show they were sorry by fixing the problem. This is what is required of us when we sin (turn away from God). In order to come back to God we must be sorry and fix whatever it was we did.
God has given us a gift in the sacraments (visual of God's mercy/love) so we can be certain of his love. In the gift of Reconciliation we are completely welcomed back into God's pasture. As a reminder, watch this clip. Remember, when we turn away from God (sin) we not only cause harm to us but we cause others hurt, too.
Question 1: In your own words, why must we confess our sins (and do penance) to be welcomed back into communion with God?
When you go to receive the sacrament of reconciliation and confess your sins to a priest, the priest will give you a penance to complete to "fix it". It's important to know that your penance is NOT what is getting you back to communion (being in God's pasture), nothing WE do will ever erase all the sin we've committed. We are forgiven because Jesus took our place on the cross and died because of our sins. This is the reason all people have been given the gift of salvation. Doing penance for sins we've committed helps us feel free to make a new start. It is not the price of sin.
Check out this Bible verse:
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 6:23Jesus' death and resurrection allows for our forgiveness, but we still have to make restitution. The restitution we make is what we call penance.
res·ti·tu·tion
ˌrestəˈt(y)o͞oSH(ə)n/
noun
- 1.the restoration of something lost or stolen to its proper owner."seeking the restitution of land taken from blacks under apartheid"
synonyms: return, restoration, handing back, surrender
"restitution of the land seized" - 2.recompense for injury or loss."he was ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution"
synonyms: compensation, recompense, reparation, damages, indemnification,indemnity, reimbursement, repayment, redress, remuneration
"restitution for the damage caused"
A priest may give you some prayers to say for your penance or he may ask you to do something or not do something that is causing you to struggle. Our Church also has some traditional penitential practices and devotions that we can do anytime we feel the struggle with sin. Let's take a look:
- Fasting
- Abstinence
- Stations of the Cross
- Almsgiving
Fasting = is primarily a willing act of reduction from or removal of certain or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. You can also have an internet fast, TV fast, electronic fast. Usually done for 24-hr.
Abstinence= to hold oneself back voluntarily. Cut back on something that takes up unnecessary amounts of time. Instead of spending time on your phone, put it down for 5 or 10 minutes and talk to God, read the Bible, or just be quiet. Abstain from something and focus on something that will bring you closer to God.
Stations of the Cross= You've all seen these along the walls of any Catholic Church you've ever been inside. There are 14 Stations during which we are called to remember and think about the journey Jesus took for our sake. It's starts with Jesus' condemnation to death and ends with his burial in the tomb. When we pray through these stations we call to mind the enormous sacrifice Jesus suffered for our ability to have forgiveness. Here's a super fast look at the 14 different stations.
Follow along in the YouCat question 277 on page 158-159.
There are prayers that go along with each Station and sometimes you can even add a verse of a song while praying through these Stations. Most churches provide a group prayer of the Stations of the Cross during Lent, but you can pray this anytime.
Here's the full version, abstain from everything else and take 22 minutes to pray the Stations of the Cross.
Almsgiving= We've all been given blessings from God freely, however, we're sinners and that makes us unworthy. Good News = Jesus conquered sin by dying and rising. The blessings given to us by God should be used for His purposes. If we truly believe our blessings come from God then there's no reason we should hoard them for ourselves. We are one body together in Christ so .... what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine.
We've been given Time, Talents, and Treasures. When we practice almsgiving we choose to say the blessings we've received, although we're unworthy, are not ours to keep, but God's. I trust God to continue his blessings; therefore, I will share my Time, or my Talents, or my Treasures so that God's work can continue.
It is our job to share the Good News and one of the ways we do that is through almsgiving.
Question 3: Think of your service project. Are you using your Time, Talent, or Treasure, or a combination of the three, to contribute to the community of God's children?
Question 4: In your own words, why is it so important to share the blessings we've received?
Watch this clip to see what a real world example of sharing one's blessings could look like:
This is really an extreme example as this is a comedy, however, you can see that even though Kevin James' character is scared and incredibly inconvenienced, he still sacrifices for the people he cares about. He felt called to fulfill a duty, despite the difficulties that will certainly lie in front of him.
Despite our sinful nature and unworthiness, we will always be worthy of God's love because of Jesus' redemptive sacrifice on the cross. He's redeemed us. While we were at our worst, He was at His best.
But God proves his love for us in that while were were still sinners Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8
When was the last time you received the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Please consider going ASAP. Saturday mornings @ 9am at OLS are always set aside for this sacrament. Go, you'll be glad you did.
Here's WHY:
Here's HOW:
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