“The last enemy to be defeated will be death.”
- 1 Corinthians 15: 26
Last Saturday, April 9, 2011, I attended the 6th Annual Men's Conference of spirituality at the A. J. Palumbo Center at Duquesne University. They had such inspiring, motivating, dynamic, captivating and faith-changing speakers as: Matthew Kelly, Msgr. Jim Lisante, Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Scott Seethaler. Matthew Kelly challenged the men to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation once per month for one year and then see how they felt -- if good, then to do it for the rest of their lives. Msgr. Lisante challenged the men to live deeper lives of love that can only flourish through God's redeeming love and forgiveness of sins. Dr. Scott Hahn, who has written over 40 books, spoke of his conversion to the Catholic faith after serving as a Presbyterian minister. Fr. Scott's story telling, humor and joy brought hope to the assembly.
There were perhaps 2,000 men in attendance and my friend, Pat Molyneaux, noted that over 1,000 men went to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The theme of the conference was, “Run your best in the race of faith, and win eternal life for yourself; for it was to this life that God called you when you firmly professed your faith before many witnesses” (1 Tim 6:12).
As I climbed the bleachers to listen to confessions for over two hours up in the rafters of the gymnasium, the men had to be in pretty good shape to get to my location. Some were holding on to the wall, some were climbing one step at a time. I must say it was inspirational to see their “panting desire” for God's merciful forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As one man made it to the heights of my bleachers, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I just had heart surgery. And now I seek a new heart in the Sacrament of Penance.”
Today is the beginning of the most spiritually moving, powerful and prayerful week on the Church's calendar. Of the 52 weeks of the year, only one week is called “Holy Week” in our Western church, and “The Great Week” in the Eastern church. Everything that Jesus said, did and lived while on earth led up to this week, to the moment of the Cross, the climax of God's plan for saving humanity. I believe that this week would be incomplete without experiencing the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Both as a confessor and a penitent, I love hearing those beautiful and profound words of absolution that are pronounced, “God the Father of Mercies, through the death and Resurrection of His Son, has reconciled the world to Himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins. Through the ministry of the Church, may God grant you pardon and peace. And I absolve you of your sins, in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.”
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York wrote a pastoral letter on the Sacrament of Penance that was released on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, in which he exhorted the entire archdiocese of New York, “Experience the joy of forgiveness! Experience liberation from sin! Keep those confessionals busy! Keep your priests busy about the great work of dispensing the Lord’s Mercy! Keep the sacrament of Penance at the heart of Catholic life!“
He went on to say that in the early Church Confession was seen as “the second conversion in tears” and continued, “I encourage you to make a good confession before Easter. Even if it has been a long time. Come home to our Father! Be reconciled to God through the ministry of His Church! Don’t wait to change your life! You can hope in the Father’s mercy. You can trust in His pledge of grace to help you lead a better life.”
Bishop Zubik, at the Men's Conference, mentioned that his greatest sorrow of the day was not being able to lift up the monstrance (weighing 80 lbs) holding the Eucharist for the crowd, due to his back surgery and lack of strength. But going to a deeper level, the Bishop humbly, sorrowfully and gracefully admitted his own personal weakness and sinfulness in failing to lift Christ up to the world as a bishop, priest, leader brother, disciple, companion and friend. I thought his image was a powerful one for us to meditate and reflect upon as we approach Holy Week. How do we lift up Christ to others? Let us lift Christ up to others by serving faithfully, by suffering sacrificially and by loving unconditionally.
A long-time mentor and spiritual companion, Sr. Joyce Rupp, wrote the book Fragments of Your Ancient Name: 365 Glimpses of the Divine for Daily Meditation. Addressing God, she says:
You are Love like no other:
Love so large you contain our smallness;
Love so deep You accept our shallowness;
Love so strong you carry our weakness;
Love so wide you enclose our wandering;
Love so tender you experience our hurting;
Love so tolerable You outlive our apathy;
Love so ardent You thaw our coldness;
Love so true, you endure our betrayals;
Love so patient, You wait for our returning.
Recently Bishop Bullock, the retired bishop of Madison, WI passed away. His Episcopal motto was simply three words, “Grace, Mercy, Peace.” My prayer for all of you is that during this Holy Week we will experience God's grace, encounter God‟s mercy and share Easter Peace.
