In the sacrament of Reconciliation, we bring our sins to the priest to experience forgiveness.
Do you remember the Star Wars movies, where the Dark Side was a symbol of evil? In the second reading, Paul tells the Christians of Ephesus that they once walked in darkness. Paul uses darkness as a symbol of shame. Shame is not just sorrow for sins; it is the fear of being discovered in sin, or of confessing our weaknesses to others for fear of being judged. Or perhaps fear of the punishment we believe we deserve. Paul himself was a sinner and was blinded when Jesus appeared to him, asking, “Why are you persecuting me?” That is why he knew that the only way to be freed from shame was not by hiding sins, but by exposing them.
Does this mean that we should broadcast our sins in the news or post them on our social media? No. We should simply confess them to God and receive his forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The priest demonstrates that God loves sinners, no matter what they have done. When we hurt our arm, we explain how we hurt ourselves so the doctor knows how to treat it. If we crash the car, we take it to the shop and tell the mechanics what’s wrong so they can fix it. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we bring our sins to the priest to experience forgiveness. We could leave our car at the shop overnight, with enough money for the repairs, but until we go back to pick it up, we’ll never know if it’s fixed.
Sometimes, other people try to shame us. In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ disciples asked whose sin had caused the man to be born blind. The Pharisees had told the blind man that he had been born in sin; that this was the reason he was born blind. However, Jesus told his disciples that the man had not sinned and, moreover, that the Pharisees themselves were the sinners because they had judged the blind man. So, when we know that God forgives us and continues to love us, we don’t have to fear what others might think. During this Lenten season, let us expose our sins to the light of forgiveness and free ourselves from shame. Let us approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
May the Lord always give you his peace.
Fr. Lalo Jara, OFM
Pastor, Mission San Luis Rey Parish
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