"God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him" (1 John 4:16). It is said that the Apostle John - whom historic tradition believes was the only Apostle to die a natural death - in his last years would often give homilies comprising only three words: "God is love." What are some of the ways that this love manifests itself?

This weekend the second graders of our parish Religious Education will for the first time experience an important aspect of God's love: His desire to forgive in the sacrament of Reconciliation.
Going under several names, the sacrament is given a wonderful treatment of this labelling in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC):

It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus' call to conversion, the first step in returning to the Father from whom one has strayed by sin.
It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner's personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction.
It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a "confession" - acknowledgment and praise - of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man.
It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest's sacramental absolution God grants the penitent "pardon and peace."
It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God." He who lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's call: "Go; first be reconciled to your brother."
(CCC 1423-1424)

Each of these are key elements in a relationship of love, regardless of whether it is between two person or a person and God. Sin creates conflict and destroys peace, reconciliation restores peace. The gift given by Christ to His Church for those who sin after their Baptism (something that happens to all of us because of concupiscence, the tendency to sin which remains in us even after Original Sin is removed), it is the invitation to repair the relationship we wound - or break - with God through willful disobedience.
During his public life Jesus not only forgave sins, but also made plain the effect of this forgiveness: he reintegrated forgiven sinners into the community of the People of God from which sin had alienated or even excluded them. A remarkable sign of this is the fact that Jesus receives sinners at his table, a gesture that expresses in an astonishing way both God's forgiveness and the return to the bosom of the People of God. (CCC 1443)

Please pray for all who are celebrating the sacrament of Reconciliation this weekend, whether for the first time or for the thousandth, and for all in need of God's mercy and forgiveness (after all, the only sin God cannot forgive is the one we don't ask to forgive). And, if it has been a while since you've rejoiced in the restoration of God's friendship through Confession or, worse yet, if your last experience turned you off the sacrament, please consider coming back. I promise that you will find yourself being wrapped by our heavenly Father's waiting arms as He rejoices knowing that "what was lost has now been found" (Luke 15:32b). 

Our FORMED Recommendation for the Week
Video (2:17) - Ready Reasons: Is the Holy Spirit the Same as the Force?
https://formed.org/watch/5a6264ac261bda1200578678

A quick and fun break! 

What do quasi-Christian groups and Star Wars have in common? The idea of a universal, impersonal force. For quasi-Christian groups, this force is the Holy Spirit, who we as Catholics call the third Person of the Holy Trinity. Karlo Broussard explains why evidence shows that the Holy Spirit is a Person, not an impersonal "force."
If you haven't done so already, go to www.formed.org, click on the REGISTER button and enter our parish code V8KNDV). Enter your e-mail address on the registration screen and you're good to go!

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