From Friday afternoon of 28 March to Saturday 29 March, the floodgates of Divine Mercy were generously opened to our shattered world. This Festival of Forgiveness, an initiative advocated by the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, which was warmly embraced by Pope Francis, has been called “24 Hours for the Lord”. Its intent was that of having round-the-clock confession services for the faithful.
When Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, president of the council, was asked about the Holy Father’s insistence that the times we are living in are those of mercy, he replied: “It is a time of mercy because it is a time in which there is greater weakness and this weakness and limitation is perceived more. It is a weakness that is becoming almost structural, a weakness of thought that is reflected in the weakness of ways of behaviour and also in the crisis of people, who experience forms of poverty not known previously, given their present gravity and breadth, but also the sign of the greater presence of spirituality.
Where there is weakness, signs of hope must be given and the proclamation of the Gospel, of mercy; it is precisely this.”
A striking way of promoting God’s mercy is surely the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. The great Saint Thomas Aquinas recognised the ever relevant role this important sacrament keeps playing in the spiritual growth of Christians when he said: “In the life of the body a man is sometimes sick, and unless he takes medicine, he will die.
“Even so in the spiritual life a man is sick on account of sin. For that reason he needs medicine so that he may be restored to health; and this grace is bestowed in the Sacrament of Penance.”
The medicinal aspect of this extraordinary sacrament can be seen in two intriguing features. The first one is that through the sacrament of confession personal renewal is safeguarded. During his homily, Pope Francis said: “Human beings are worth more for what they are than what they have. Set your eyes on the essential. This is the difference between a life deformed by sin, and one illuminated by grace. From the heart of a renewed person, according to God, comes all good behaviour.”
The second feature Pope Francis highlighted was that confession keeps Christ’s love alive in us. “Our Father never tires of loving, and his eyes never tire of looking at the path toward home to see if His son, who has left and is lost, returns. We can talk about God’s hope.
“Our Father always waits for us. He not only leaves the door open, he waits.”
It clearly seems that the Eternal Father was eagerly waiting for the Pope himself to be reconciled with him! In fact, as soon as he finished his speech, to the utter surprise of the master of ceremonies, the Holy Father took of his purple cassock and went up to a priest and confessed. When he was absolved, he went to an indicated confession booth to listen to the confession of the faithful. His powerful gesture drew a huge number of people who wanted to confess and be absolved by the humble Pope.
For Pope Francis, a good confessor is one who truly portrays God’s mercy. Obviously, God’s mercy is not a laissez-faire attitude where anything goes. Such an attitude poisons God’s merciful grace. On the other hand, it is not rigorist. The latter discourages people from receiving this healing sacrament. The way forward is mercy salted with justice. When addressing members of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Pope told them: “The priest’s heart is a heart that is able to be moved, not out of sentimentalism or mere emotiveness, but by the Lord’s ‘bowels of mercy!’ If it is true that the tradition indicates to us the twofold role of doctor and judge for confessors, we must never forget that like a doctor he is called to heal and like a judge to absolve.”
Why not participate in the Feast of Forgiveness that will be celebrated on Thursday 10 April by making your much-awaited confession? For further details kindly check the Church in Malta Website on: http://thechurchinmalta.org/mt/posts/category/news
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
San Gwann