Reconciliation

We live in a culture that, as Cardinal Francis George said, permits everything and yet, forgives nothing. So, people despair of being forgiven and feel compelled to deny their guilt. Yet the desire for reconciliation is embedded deep in our broken hearts...we are longing for absolution. The truth is we’ve all sinned -- against ourselves, against each other, and against God. God in Christ reveals that his mercy does not abandon us to guilt but causes us, like Lazarus, to come forth from the grave of our sin and find in his forgiveness the chance to live again. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God’s merciful plan gives us a living encounter with his presence, which is forgiveness and mercy. Through the ministry of the Church, we hear the very voice of Christ declaring, “Go in peace. Your sins are forgiven.”

Bishop Robert Barron