God's Fountain of Mercy

Goal

To gain deeper appreciation of the gift and power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Grab

 Fill in the blank: When I go to confession, I feel ________________.

Grace

Whenever we sin, we rupture our communion with the Lord (CCC 1440). For some, we think of confession as a punishment for our wrong doing. We feel ashamed of what we’ve done and we keep hiding and we keep avoiding coming back to Christ. But we can reconcile our relationship with Him by receiving His mercy through the Sacrament of Reconciliation (see CCC 1422). 

Confession is not a punishment, it is a gift and blessing that God has given us. We don’t deserve His forgiveness but He offers it to us as a sacramental grace that we can receive as much as we can so we can restore and strengthen our communion with Him. To renew the way we see the Sacrament of Reconciliation, let us reflect on Jesus’ message to Sister Faustina Kowalska…

“Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself entirely in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls.” – Diary of St. Faustina, 1602

From these powerful words, we can see how God is at work as we receive the Sacrament of Confession:

1.   God is waiting for you – “When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you.” The Lord is more than ready to accept us, embrace us and forgive us, despite the sins we have committed, no matter how grave they are. He is waiting for us. He initiates and offer us His mercy, but it is up to us to participate in the Sacrament of Confession. To be restored in our relationship with Him, we are called to humbly admit our faults and come to Him.

2.   God’s mercy flows – “when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it.” To ennoble means to lend greater dignity. This means that when we come to Him, he restores our dignity as His generous mercy flows deep down into our souls. In humility, we can receive “torrents of grace” that restores who we are, that reconciles our communion with him, and that renews our strength to live a life of holiness again.

3.  God acts in your soul – “the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy”. God sees our misery and how we are chained and paralyzed in guilt and fear. But He doesn’t leave us that way. In confession, God’s mercy wipes out our misery. He lovingly acts on our soul – cleansing it, purifying it and making it brand new. He gives you hope and He walks with you towards a journey of spiritual renewal and reconciliation.

For us to receive the “torrents of grace” and the “abundance of His mercy”, we are to open ourselves with trust and openness - by coming to Him in great trust, by immersing ourself in His Mercy and by receiving God’s generous mercy. Let us approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation with humility and trust, confident that His fountain of mercy will transform us and strengthen us. God is waiting – more than ready to forgive you, embrace you and renew you in His loving mercy. Will you come home to Him today?

Gather

Do you still have fears going to confession? Where is this fear coming from? How have you experienced God’s transforming mercy through the Sacrament of Confession?

Go Forth

This Lent, receive the Sacrament of Confession. Encourage a friend or a family member to go to confession as well.

Give

God is Generous and in response, let us be good stewards by consistent Spiritual Giving, our tithing. 

For Tithes Remittance of NCR Members: bit.ly/mfctithes