The following is taken from Improve:Now is the Acceptable Time! distributed by the Archconfraternity of Christian Mothers.
Note: Fr. Lester has kindly permitted me to use these excerpts daily. Please click HERE to learn more about the Archconfraternity of Christian Mothers and to consider joining them as a member.
BTW, time is running out if you haven't been to confession. The last day confession will be available in some churches is next Wednesday. Check with your parish or a nearby church as most parishes are offering Penance Services around this time. If not, please call the church and make an appointment with a priest to go to confession. Let's meet the risen Christ with a clean heart and a fresh start!
"Did she say that? Yes, she did. 'I go to Las Vegas more often than I go to Confession!' Quite a statement and she meant it.
Let's look at Confession from another angle. What would your house or apartment look like if, for the last nine to twelve months you hadn't run the sweeper, you hadn't dusted, you hadn't picked anything off the floor? What a mess you would be living in! Now, parallel your soul with your house. What is your soul like if you haven't touched it up for nine to twelve months by going to Confession?"
Stay Out
Try to have the teaching of the Church clear in your mind. A mother says: 'I don't go to Confession any more because I really didn't do anything too wrong.' That statement indicates lack of information. We do not go to Confession just to get out of sin. We go to Confession to stay out of sin. Each time we receive the sacrament of Reconciliation we strengthen yourself so we will not fall into serious sin. Why do we eat good food and drink special juices? So we will not have a physical setback. People say: 'Watch that junk food. You will ruin your stomach!' We go to Confession on a regular basis so we will not have a spiritual setback."
Car Wash
How many times have you had the car washed since you went to Confession? How many times have you taken a shower or a bath since you shined up your soul by going to Confession?
Sense of Sin
Isn't it amazing how holy we suddenly became as Catholics in recent years? In two parishes each with over a thousand families, there was not one Confession Saturday afternoon, not one Confession Saturday night. Maybe some of us have lost our sense of sin.
What did Christ did for? For my sins and for your sins. There must be some sins around or Christ was the biggest fool Who ever came on this earth to end up hanging on a cross.
Up, Up and Away
The Catholic Church is a church for sinner. The only reason Christ came on this earth was to save us from our sins. Now many people do not think they have any sins. Some believe everybody is going super-highway straight through to heaven. I don't believe that. No wonder the priest says to the penitent right at the beginning: 'May God, Who has enlightened every heart, help you to know your sins and trust in His mercy.'
Try to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Penance, every few months. Say to a friend who has drifted away: 'I'll pick you up. We'll go to Confession together.' That's all that some people need to come home to God. 'For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.' Luke 19, 10.
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