Earlier this week I had the opportunity to attend the Lenten Reconciliation service at church. Each time I receive Reconciliation, I wonder why it always takes me so long to go back. What is more refreshing than a clean slate? There is so much hope in starting new. Just to have the time alone, to reflect in a beautiful space on what it is about my life I'd most like to amend, was a blessing. Often in daily life, it's hard to see the forest for the trees; but what a different perspective it is to step back and evaluate life as a whole. The Sacraments of the Church invite us to do just that. Each Sacrament allows us to participate in something so much greater than ourselves, that we can't help but come away with a new perspective. Oddly enough, I came away from the service praising God for the trials and difficult patches that have come and will come; quite an unexpected change from the burdened spirit with which I entered. I actually felt thankful that this life is not easy but real, rich and full.
As part of my penance, the priest asked me to "scan your life and pray for the person who most needs your prayers". May we all take a moment each day to scan our lives, and when possible, receive the Sacraments to help us do it. The perspective that will come is life-changing.
"Lord, your love reaches to heaven; your fidelity, to the clouds. Your justice is like the highest mountains; your judgments, like the mighty deep; all living creatures you sustain, Lord."
Psalm 36: 6-7
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