Gloria Dei, homo vivens!

The well known words of St. Irenaeus of Lyons, "The Glory of God is the living man!", or more to the point, "The Glory of God is man, fully alive!" Being truly and really human, really alive.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the most powerful encounters a human being can have, and it is so that it is intricately linked with a Eucharistic faith. Yet, it is one of the most undervalued sacraments. Why? I suspect it's because of our pride, and a general loss of the sense of what sin is. But why are we so afraid of repentance? Given that we have a God who loves us so much, a God who has sacrificed everything for us, how is it so hard for us to look at ourselves, admit we're not at all perfect, and accept God's invitation to take away from us everything that keeps us from encountering and living with Him. Yet we prefer to walk with an obscured image of this great love, and we grow so used to needlessly carrying around this big bag of rocks we accumulate over time, out of some misguided sense of control and comfort, I suppose; and here God comes to us, asking us, pleading with us really, to give these darkest parts of our soul to Him, with the promise - the promise - of transformation, of grace. Reconciliation is the only place where we can stand before God, swallow our pride and confess, "I am guilty!", and embrace complete forgiveness.

Through more frequent confession, I am much more aware of my predominant faults -- those faults that I struggle with daily, that aren't overcome overnight. We all have them. And so I plead with all of you -- make this special season of Lent a true time of repentance and growth. If you haven't been to confession in years, why not swallow your pride and go? It will change your life. This is what makes the life as a Christian so radical. And God eagerly desires to make us fully alive through an encounter with all of the sacraments He has given us.