St. Josemaria Escriva on the Sacrament of Reconciliation

This holy week, you can ponder on some of these pointers from St. Josemaria Escriva, the patron saint of ordinary life. He means that anyone can pursue a life close to God, and not just those who have taken vows or are ordained.  In a person's life in the church, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of those sacraments you can avail more than once in your life.  The other one, you guessed it, is the mass.  

In reference to a sacramental life, the little flower St. Therese of Lisieux's and her life inspired St. Josemaria Escriva to "daily Communion, to purification, to confession, and to penance"  which he said were "imitations of love."  Ganyan ang paglaki sa buhay na banal, kahit may hinagpis at tukso ay mayroon ding pag-ibig sa katotohanan, sa kagandahan, sa kabutihan at sa pag-ibig.  

St. Josemaria Escriva wrote three books on living a holy way of life.  The Way was the published first in 1934 and then followed by The Furrow and The Forge.  He has also other books like Friends of God.  Here are some of his "points of meditation" regarding the sacrament of confession.

The Way
211 In the deep pit opened by your humility, let penance bury your negligences, offences and sins. Just as the gardener buries rotten fruit, dried twigs and fallen leaves at the foot of the very trees which produced them. And so what was useless, what was even harmful, can make a real contribution to a new fruitfulness.
From the falls learn to draw strength: from death, life.
309 What depths of mercy there are in God's justice! For, in the judgments of men, he who confesses his fault is punished: and in the Judgment of God, he is pardoned.
Blessed be the holy Sacrament of Penance!
310 'Put on the Lord Jesus Christ', says Saint Paul to the Romans. It is in the Sacrament of Penance that you and I put on Jesus Christ and his merits.
521 How good Christ was to leave the Sacraments to his Church! They are the remedy for all our needs. Venerate them and be very grateful both to God and to his Church.

Furrow
168 You revealed your past wounds — full of pus — in Confession. And the priest dealt with your soul like a good doctor, like a conscientious doctor. He made an incision where he had to, and would not let the wound heal over until everything had been cleaned out. —Be grateful.

The Forge
191 In the sacrament of Penance, Jesus forgives us.
—Christ’s merits are applied to us there. It is for love of us that he is on the Cross with his arms stretched out, fastened to the wood more by the Love he has for us than by the nails.
192 If ever you fall, my son, go quickly to Confession and seek spiritual guidance. Show your wound!, so that it gets properly healed and all possibility of infection is removed, even if doing this hurts you as much as having an operation.

In the pages of this saint's writings there is a deep appreciation for a sacrament that brings understanding and change, as even the best of us slip up once in a while and the worst of us forget to stand from those slip ups.  




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