My First Formal Encounter with God's Mercy

At this time of year, in the midst of this Extraordinary Year of Mercy, I think back 15 years to Saturday, March 17, 2001.  It was the day after my birthday when I turned 10.

Mom and I went to the north Oak Park home of a member of the St. Giles Family Mass community, and it was there that I had my first reconciliation, along with a group of other children.  Before and after going to confession, there were snacks, music, and activities.

At the time, like with any experience of Church, I knew it was a way to experience God, but there wasn't much more that my first reconciliation meant to me.  Growth usually brings deeper understanding with any experience, and it is only through the past 15 years of growth that I have come to appreciate more deeply this sacrament, by which we encounter the mercy of God.

The liturgical seasons of Advent and Lent are times I make a point to attend communal reconciliation services, which provide the right atmosphere for me to reflect.  Those seasons set the tone well as a time to examine the way I've been living my life, and how my relationship with God is, as I prepare for the great feasts of the Nativity and Resurrection.  There have been a number of times recently I've gone to these services with something heavy on my heart.  Hearing those words of absolution is a chance for me to really sense God's merciful love and forgiveness flow over me, and bring me alive anew.  The penance I have received each of these times has been a meaningful way for me to engage in the spirit of prayer, which draws me closer to God.

While there was a time in my life when I didn't feel it was necessary to confess my sins to a priest, I have embraced the opportunity that the sacrament of reconciliation provides, especially in hearing those words of absolution, by which the power of Christ's Paschal Mystery flows into my heart to bring me back again to God.  It is truly a moment of celebration, just like when the family feasted upon the return of the son in the parable in Luke 15.  Father Kevin at St. Teresa's mentioned celebration in his talking points about reconciliation.  And the past two times that my RE students have had reconciliation, I open up a chance for them to celebrate in class afterwards, usually with some kind of treat.

It is a sense of peace and joy that I receive in reconciliation, that renews me in my walk of faith, to abide in the ways of righteousness.