Father Rick’s Three-Minute Homily
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060423.cfm
God Loves Us This Much!
Today we are celebrating the solemnity of the Solemnity Most Holy Trinity. But I want to bring to your attention how much the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are working when we go to confession.
Listen carefully to this Prayer Of Absolution the penitent receives in the Sacrament of Reconciliation:
“God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of His Son, has reconciled the world to Himself and poured out His Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins. Through the ministry of the Church and God grant you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.”
That is how much God loves you and me. He gives Himself so ultimately to us when we confess our sins and make a firm purpose of amendment not to offend Him again. We may not realize it, but we surrender our lives to Christ every time we go to confession.
An amazing thing happens when I hear confessions. Even though someone may be kneeling behind the screen, I can see the goodness in their heart. I can feel the pain that their sins caused them and others. And I know it’s not me doing this but Christ in me.
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. Eternal life is the life of Jesus living in us.
God never loses sight of His goodness in us and waits for us to experience His goodness after we receive absolution. It’s a life where God is free to love and reach out to others and provide however they need us.
Think of the pain and suffering God the Father experiences in his Son when we continue to live in our sins and not receive his mercy in confession.
Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me. Jesus remains on his cross with his brothers and sisters until we confess our sins and welcome his grace not to sin again.
And finally, through the death and resurrection of his Son, he has reconciled the world to himself, praise God, and poured out his Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins.
We can love now, we can forgive and be generous like we never could before. The Holy Spirit moves our center from ourselves to Jesus and our neighbor. How could we ever live for this world when we taste and see how good is the Lord.
The Blessed Trinity, my friends, is beyond our comprehension but not beyond our experience.
Gospel Challenge:
Our gospel challenge is to make a good confession. I promise you, I’ll be there all night, every night, whatever it takes. I never tire of hearing confessions. Fr. Rick Pilger, IC
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