When some men brought their friend who was a paralytic to Jesus and lowered him down through the roof, what was the first thing Jesus did? It wasn't a physical healing. The gospel says that Jesus saw the faith of the man ' s friends and said " ... your sins are forgiven. '' (Mark 2:5) The first thing Christ did was give him spiritual healing . When Christ was being crucified, what were His first words? ''Father, forgive them, they know not what they do. " (Luke 23:34). After the Resurrection, when Jesus appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room, He said to them "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them , and whose sins you retain are retained" (John 20:22-23) One of the first things Christ did after the Resurrection was to give the Apostles the power to forgive sins in His Name.
We often think of confession from our perspective - the difficulty of going in to confess our sins and admit to another person the things we are least proud of. It's a humbling experience. That's what makes it so difficult at times. But that's also what makes it so powerful. Bringing our weaknesses to the light of Clu·ist brings us healing and strength to resist temptation in the future. But the video I brought today has a totally different perspective. What is it like for the priest? What is it like to have people coming in to the confessional to admit where they have failed, to say how sorry they are and ask for forgiveness? In this video, Fr. Mike Schmitz shares what that is like for him and how powerful and incredible this sacrament is.
We've talked a lot in the past about the challenges of trying to live a life as a faithful Catholic husband, father, and man in the world today. We are in a spiritual battle - every day. The devil is trying to lead us away from Christ and His Church. In particular, he wants to keep us away from the healing power of the Sacraments. His goal is to convince us we're not good enough and we never will be. He wants nothing more than to discourage us from even trying; to doubt the mercy and love of God. But our strength to fight the spiritual battle every day comes from the Sacraments that Jesus gave us through the Church.
As we listen to this video, here are a few points that stuck out to me.
Every priest is required to do penance for those who come to confession to them. (CCC1466)
"Confession is one of thejoyful, humbling and inspiring places in the world"
"In confession, I see people who are discouraged who are lifted up. I see people who are wounded who are healed. I see people who are lost who are found. "
"Confess ion is a place of victory. "
Questions for discussion :
1. What was the most smprising or interesting thing you heard in the video?
2. What do you think about the priest doing penance for each of us ?
3. What part does confession play in your spiritual practices? What impact has it had on
yo ur spiritual life?
What was the most smprising or interesting thing you heard in the video?
What do you think about the priest doing penance for each of us ?
What part does confession play in your spiritual practices? What impact has it had on your spiritual life?