March 4, 2004
Wed of the 1st Week of Lent
On Monday we talked about the movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” The story is that since the picture is such a huge financial success, the big studios all decided to make another movie from the Bible. Unfortunately they had to abandon the project when they realized that no one in Hollywood owns one..
All three of our readings today are about repentance. The Ninevites repented of their evil ways and when they did, God repented of the evil that he had threatened to do them.
Our responsorial Psalm tells us that “A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”
And, in the Gospel, Jesus calls the crowd an evil generation. He tells them that the men of Ninevah repented because of the preaching of Jonah. There is something here greater than Jonah. That’s Jesus himself. They should repent as well.
Back in the days of Vatican II, when the church restored the order of permanent deacons, they must have been thinking of days like today. Married people, men and women, know a lot more about repentance than a single priest, especially the men. Repentance is all about being sorry. “A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Not that there’s anything wrong with being married. Some of my best friends are married. It’s just that when you live with someone day in and day out, you have more reasons to repent.
For example, for some reason women don’t seem to forget things like birthdays and anniversaries. But men do. Have any of you men ever forgotten your wife’s birghday. If you have, you know what repentance is all about.
Jan’s birthday is this Saturday. I have never forgotten it, but I have waited until the last minute to shop. She says the glue is always wet on the envelope when I give her a card.
But, there’s a reason why I wait until the last minute. I want to be sure that I give her the most appropriate card possible. Sometimes, things change in a relationship, and the card that’s right today might not be the right one on Saturday. So, I’ll buy it Saturday morning, or maybe Friday night so I know it’s right.
Seriously, if I would forget her birthday on Saturday, it would do no good for me to show up with a gift on Sunday. That’s not the point. The point is that if I want to be forgiven, I’d better apologize, and mean it. A dozen long-stemmed roses a day late don’t cut it. Contrition is what she wants, and if I’m smart, contrition is what she gets.
Isn’t that what God wants from us, too.
“A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”
When we sin, the first thing we need to do is stop. But just stopping isn’t enough. We have to be truly sorry. Just like a spouse or parent, God just wants to know that we are sorry for what we did (or didn’t do), we recognize our mistake and we will do our best not to do it again. That’s what the sacrament of reconciliation is for. We’re reconciled with God. We tell him we’re sorry, and through the priest He forgives us.
But, why do I have to go through the priest? Doesn’t God know I’m sorry? Let me ask you this, have you every had an argument with your husband or wife, or anyone close to you, and it just kind of went away? Nobody ever really apologized, it just blew over like a summer storm. Does the hurt ever really go away? No, not really. We need to verbalize our feelings, both for ourselves and for the other person.Getting that sin out in the open gets it off our minds.
That’s how it works with the sacrament of reconciliation. You’re sorry. You say your sorry. And you ask for forgiveness. It takes all three to make it work. Leave out one step and the guilt never seems to go away.
Has it been a while since you told God you’re sorry? Lent is the perfect time. Watch the bulletin and the St. Louis Review for opportunities to go to confession. Fr. Dave Polek is holding a mission at St. David Church in Arnold this week. There will be a penance service there tomorrow night at 7:00. It’s a great chance to go to a priest you don’t know, if you prefer that. Of course, there’s never a long line here at St. Bernadette on Saturday afternoon.
On Monday we talked about the movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” The story is that since the picture is such a huge financial success, the big studios all decided to make another movie from the Bible. Unfortunately they had to abandon the project when they realized that no one in Hollywood owns one..
All three of our readings today are about repentance. The Ninevites repented of their evil ways and when they did, God repented of the evil that he had threatened to do them.
Our responsorial Psalm tells us that “A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”
And, in the Gospel, Jesus calls the crowd an evil generation. He tells them that the men of Ninevah repented because of the preaching of Jonah. There is something here greater than Jonah. That’s Jesus himself. They should repent as well.
Back in the days of Vatican II, when the church restored the order of permanent deacons, they must have been thinking of days like today. Married people, men and women, know a lot more about repentance than a single priest, especially the men. Repentance is all about being sorry. “A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Not that there’s anything wrong with being married. Some of my best friends are married. It’s just that when you live with someone day in and day out, you have more reasons to repent.
For example, for some reason women don’t seem to forget things like birthdays and anniversaries. But men do. Have any of you men ever forgotten your wife’s birghday. If you have, you know what repentance is all about.
Jan’s birthday is this Saturday. I have never forgotten it, but I have waited until the last minute to shop. She says the glue is always wet on the envelope when I give her a card.
But, there’s a reason why I wait until the last minute. I want to be sure that I give her the most appropriate card possible. Sometimes, things change in a relationship, and the card that’s right today might not be the right one on Saturday. So, I’ll buy it Saturday morning, or maybe Friday night so I know it’s right.
Seriously, if I would forget her birthday on Saturday, it would do no good for me to show up with a gift on Sunday. That’s not the point. The point is that if I want to be forgiven, I’d better apologize, and mean it. A dozen long-stemmed roses a day late don’t cut it. Contrition is what she wants, and if I’m smart, contrition is what she gets.
Isn’t that what God wants from us, too.
“A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”
When we sin, the first thing we need to do is stop. But just stopping isn’t enough. We have to be truly sorry. Just like a spouse or parent, God just wants to know that we are sorry for what we did (or didn’t do), we recognize our mistake and we will do our best not to do it again. That’s what the sacrament of reconciliation is for. We’re reconciled with God. We tell him we’re sorry, and through the priest He forgives us.
But, why do I have to go through the priest? Doesn’t God know I’m sorry? Let me ask you this, have you every had an argument with your husband or wife, or anyone close to you, and it just kind of went away? Nobody ever really apologized, it just blew over like a summer storm. Does the hurt ever really go away? No, not really. We need to verbalize our feelings, both for ourselves and for the other person.Getting that sin out in the open gets it off our minds.
That’s how it works with the sacrament of reconciliation. You’re sorry. You say your sorry. And you ask for forgiveness. It takes all three to make it work. Leave out one step and the guilt never seems to go away.
Has it been a while since you told God you’re sorry? Lent is the perfect time. Watch the bulletin and the St. Louis Review for opportunities to go to confession. Fr. Dave Polek is holding a mission at St. David Church in Arnold this week. There will be a penance service there tomorrow night at 7:00. It’s a great chance to go to a priest you don’t know, if you prefer that. Of course, there’s never a long line here at St. Bernadette on Saturday afternoon.
posted by Mike at 12:09 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home