One of the best favors and blessings that flow out of the Sacred Heart of Our Lord is a kindness that is communicated most profoundly through the Sacrament of Confession. This Sacrament is additionally at times called the Sacrament of Pardon, Reconciliation, Penance, and additionally Sacrament of God’s Mercy.
Words that create incomprehensible harmony, euphoria, encouragement, and expectation are the words that the Catholic cleric communicates in the expressions of pardon toward the finish of the Sacrament of Mercy: “And I clear you of your transgressions: for the sake of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. So be it. My child, your wrongdoings are excused; go in harmony!” The inside learning that the majority of my transgressions have been absolutely and totally eradicated, demolished, wiped out and pardoned by the Blood that Jesus shed for me on Calvary creates a delight and harmony that goes beyond the capacity that human words can express!
The two most imperative and glorious motions that a Catholic can do on earth are the accompanying: to get with confidence, dedication and consuming adoration the Sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist — the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ; at that point the second is to admit one’s transgressions to the cleric (who speaks to Jesus, the Healer and Friend) and receive sacramental absolution and forgiveness of sins.
This being the situation, we ought to endeavor with the majority of the vitality and fiber of our being to enhance our inside manner to get these ceremonies better every time we do get them. In a word, every gathering of both of these holy observances ought to be better and increasingly intense than the earlier gathering! That ought to be our optimal and steady objective! May God help us!
The greatest sinners can become the greatest saints if they simply trust in the mercy of Jesus. That which wounds most the Sacred Heart of Jesus, even more than sin itself, is the lack of trust in His mercy. Saint Paul encourages us with these words: “Where sin abounds the mercy of God abounds all the more.”(Romans 5:20)
The following are ten Biblical passages related to the Sacrament of Confession, but each in a unique way. Pray over these; meditate on them; trust in God’s mercy and them make the best confession in your life: “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”(Psalm 34:8)
1. Galatians 5:16-26
Saint Paul contrasts those who live according to the flesh and those who live according to the spirit. Those who live according to the flesh will have a harvest of corruption and death. Those who live according to the spirit will experience the fruits of the spirit and experience eternal life.
Confession helps us to put to death the works of the flesh and to be led by the Holy Spirit. May we form the habit of frequent confession, conquer the desires of the flesh and conquer them and live the true freedom of the sons and daughters of God.
2. Psalm 51
Pray before and after going to confession Psalm 51. This is the heart-felt Act of Contrition that King David prayed after he committed adultery with Bathsheba and then murdered Urias the innocent man. Plead for the grace to have true repentance for your sins.
True sorrow, true and heartfelt contrition, is important to making a good confession. David humbly admits that his sin is his own doing and blames nobody excluding himself. May we own up to our own sins and blame only ourselves always, like David, trusting in God’s infinite mercy!
3. John 20:21-23
Read and pray over the Institution of the Sacrament of Confession that first Easter night when the Apostles were in the Upper Room and Jesus breathed on them the Holy Spirit and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit: whose sins you shall forgive they shall be forgiven; whose sins you shall bind shall be held bound.”
Be very thankful for this great gift bestowed upon the Church and its members the same day we celebrate His victorious triumph over death, the day of His Resurrection from the dead. In fact, every time we go to confession we individually celebrate the death to sin in our own person and rise to the new life of grace! Every confession is a Paschal-Easter experience! The Lord Jesus has risen in us, Alleluia!
4. John 21: 15-19
Read and meditate this conversation between Jesus and Peter. After the Apostles have made the miraculous catch of fish Jesus walks with Peter along the shore and asks him three times if Peter really loves Him. Peter is repairing for the three times that he denied Jesus three times shortly after the Last Supper.
Pray for the grace to truly be repentant for your sins and make a perfect act of contrition — a contrition of love! Love covers a multitude of sins. You become the repentant Peter; tell the Lord you are truly sorry for your sins and how much you really love the Lord.
5. Luke 15:1-7
The Good Shepherd leaves the 99 to pursue the one lost sheep. Know that you are the lost sheep and you have great value in God’s eyes. Your soul has infinite value in the eyes of God. You were redeemed not by the blood of lambs or goats, nor bought back by gold or silver, but redeemed and ransomed by the Blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. (I Pet. 1:18-19)
6. John 10
Jesus is the Good Shepherd that goes after the lost sheep. Moreover, once you have experienced the loving embrace of Jesus the Good Shepherd then it is up to you to be a Good Shepherd for the sheep that Jesus has put in your charge.
The key for us to be a Good Shepherd is that we must first be a good sheep of the Good Shepherd, to hear His voice and follow Him. After we have experience and we Taste and see the goodness of the Lord in Confession, then let us bring others to the loving embrace of the Good Shepherd!
7. Matthew 8:1-4
Every Sacrament has a unique sacramental grace — that of Confession is healing! Jesus came to cure and heal the sick, all of the sick that trusted in Him. We have to see ourselves in the leper; sin is leprosy and all of us are sinners. As Jesus touched and healed the leper, so He can touch and heal me if I permit Him.” ”Though your sins are as scarlet, I will make them as white as the snow.”
8. Prodigal Son: Luke 15:11-32
Read and pray over the Parable of the Prodigal Son before going to Confession. Plead for the grace to comprehend what God really wants you to understand from this spiritual masterpiece. Every time you read and meditate upon this spiritual gem, God will enrich you with new and deeper wisdom.
However, in all times and places, the central message is that the Father is God, the Father who is full of love, mercy, and compassion to all those who believe Him. Saint Pope John Paul II wrote an entire encyclical on this one Parable: Dives in Misericordia. Study it and meditate on it!
