COURAGE TO GO TO CONFESSION - 6/29/22 (Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time)

Matthew 9:2-8

And there people brought to Him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, “Why do you harbor evil thoughts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”– He then said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” He rose and went home. When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/063022.cfm

For more information on the Optional Memorial of First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, click here:

https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/june-30---first-martyrs-of-the-church-of-rome/

For the examination of conscience and guide to confession, click here:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Blessed Thursday! Why did the people bring a paralytic to our Lord? They probably knew that the paralytic had a real faith that he would be healed by Jesus, and as such, they helped to carry him. Jesus Christ is our Divine Physician. It's true that in His ministry, He was healing physical illnesses to fulfill the prophecies about the coming of the Messiah. But, what is more important to our Lord is the healing of our hearts and our souls. Our sins are spiritual illnesses which affect us and wound our hearts. When we commit sins, especially grave since, we become spiritually paralyzed, and we are unable to walk with Jesus in our spiritual journey with Him. 

Our Savior Jesus Christ has the authority to forgive our sins. He is both God and Man. At the same time, when He ascended to heaven, He used men to be the instruments of His healing mercy and forgiveness. As we read in the gospel reading, the crowd glorified God who gave authority to men. This authority pertains to the authority to forgive sins in the name of Jesus. In John 20:23, Jesus told the apostles that whoever sins they would forgive, they would be really forgiven. This authority is passed down to all priests. In the sacrament of confession, the priests are just screens but in reality, it is Jesus Christ Himself who pours His Infinite Mercy into our hearts that purifies all of our sins, including grave sins. 

There are at least two obstacles that we may face when we think of confession. First is the sin of pride. The scribes accused Jesus of blasphemy when He forgave the sins of the paralytic one. Because of their pride, they were unable to see the Divinity of Jesus. Besides that, because they thought they were holy, they did not even want to come to Jesus and beg for forgiveness. The truth is we need to be humble to receive the mercy of our Lord. It is humility to acknowledge that we cannot walk on the path of humility because of our pride, or we cannot walk on the path of spiritual poverty and simplicity because we are attached to our wealth and extravagant lifestyle. God is calling us to be humble for us to admit to Him our sins and come to the representatives of Jesus in the sacrament of confession. 

Another obstacle is our discouragement. We may be discouraged to go to confession because we are ashamed of ourselves. It's as if we are disappointed with the darkness of our past thinking that God will not forgive us. However, the message that Jesus gave to the paralytic is the same message He gives to us right now. Let's have courage because we are the children of God, and in the sacrament of confession, we will receive the forgiveness of all of our sins. After the paralytic was healed, he was able to walk and go to his home. What is our home? What is the final destination of our journey? It's heaven. The sacrament of confession is necessary for us to live a new life, to walk with our Lord and to be with Him in our eternal home. When was the last time we went to confession? If we have committed grave sins or if it's been at least a month since our last confession, Jesus is inviting us to examine our conscience. Above this reflection, you will see a link for the examination of conscience and guideline to confession. And, after reflecting in our prayers, let's come to Jesus in this sacrament. May we glorify the mercy of the Lord who heals our hearts from all sins and who casts out all the darkness of our souls. 

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic