"You Complete Me!"

Saint John Paul II used to tell the story that he had heard about the author Jonathan Swift. Swift was traveling, got up one morning and asked his servant to get his boots for him. When the servant returned, the boots were still covered with yesterday's dust and mud. Swift complained that the boots were still dirty. The man asserted, "What's the point of cleaning them? They'll be dusty and muddy again after just a few miles down the road." Jonathan Swift answered, "Very well! Then get the horse and let's be on our way." "Without breakfast?!" objected the servant. "What's the point of breakfast? In a few miles we will be hungry again!" answered Swift.

The old saying says that cleanliness is next to Godliness! When it comes to being willing to forgive and saying, "I'm sorry and want your forgiveness."; cleanliness is Godliness. That is what the readings tell us this weekend. Forgiveness is the proof that love is real and that love is from God. God is present when forgiveness happens.

Forgiveness is also hard. It is both hard to forgive and to ask for forgiveness. In order to forgive someone well (and to seek forgiveness from another) we have to let go of our egos and abandon ourselves to the mercy of another. Dropping our defenses so much is especially difficult in this culture of egotism that we live in.

If you remember last week's gospel reading, Jesus tells His disciples that He is going to die for us in order to save us. He also tells us and them that if we want to be His disciples then we have to deny ourselves and carry our crosses. Denying our self is loving God and others fully. Denying our self is where we learn to forgive and be forgiven. Yet trusting God and another enough to forgive and be forgiven is the only way to be a disciple.

As a priest, some of the most special times I have are praying with others and asking for God's forgiveness to be with them in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is especially poignant when the "sinner" comes to the Sacrament knowing how much they need God to help them repair the damage they have done to their lives and/or  the lives of others. While they recognize that they may sin again, they get peace and cleansing by admitting their "sin" and trusting in God's forgiveness. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation a person allows themselves to be loved by God intimately.

Yet this Sacrament is the one that is the least appreciated and used. We love Communion. God feeds us with His Son. How much more intimate and loving can we get to God than that. And we know we need that. And in the Sacrament of the Eucharist there is an important reconciliation with God and others happening as well. After all, it is called Communion because we become in union with God, the Saints and the others around us and throughout the world because of this Sacrament.

The same Divine stuff is happening in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In both Sacraments we have to recognize that we need God and others. We need to be whole and at peace. We need intimacy and belonging to an accepting loving family. In both Sacraments God fills our holes, our hungers and our needs. In the wonderful Sacrament of Reconciliation God repairs the broken bridges between us and others and Him. He brings us back to Communion with Him and others. Yes, we have to be vulnerable and humble and admit that we are not perfect and in need. BUT, the bonus is intimacy, peace and wholeness with God and others. 

Peace,
Fr. Chuck