Reflection by Rev. Msgr. Joseph Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D.
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I have a confession to make. When I was younger, I was terrified of going to confession. It was mostly my own introverted personality (and perhaps a slight bit of being anxious and uptight … but that’s all disappeared now!). 😊
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What has never gone away is God’s desire for you and me to experience his love and mercy – through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. At this point in my life as a disciple and priest, it is frequent, regular confession that sustains me. Receiving this sacrament is integral to my spiritual life and provides stability and security in my vocation. Over and again, throughout the years, I have been transformed by the power of God’s healing and forgiveness. I know this now as my treasure in a deep and personal manner.
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“Mercy becomes our identity when we follow the Lord with our whole heart.”
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This coming weekend at the Parish of San Pio V in Rome, Pope Francis will be presiding over what has come to be called “24 Hours for the Lord.” He began this Lenten initiative at the start of his pontificate, calling the believers around the world to rediscover the beauty and blessing of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Holy Father himself will be hearing confessions of several penitents. Perhaps there is an invitation for us all to do likewise – to see the face of God’s love and mercy through the gift of this Holy Sacrament.
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“When we throw ourselves on God’s mercy and stop trying to change our situations on our own, God shows us how powerful he can work in our lives.”
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Since the beginning of Lent, the Church – in her readings at Mass, her prayers, and devotions – has been calling us to repentance, to change our way of thinking and acting. Receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation gives us all the graces we need to change. St Thérèse of Lisieux says these graces are given to us because of God’s unfathomable, even unbelievable, love for us. When you and I come to a realization of this love, as well, as knowing the love of the person of Jesus, we are changed, for the better. It is our trust in his love and forgiveness that brings about this healing transformation. May this treasure be rediscovered by us this Lent.
“It is the blind hope which I have in his mercy … there is my only treasure. Why should this treasure not be yours?” (St Thérèse of Lisieux)
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Rev. Msgr. Joseph Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D., Vice Provost for Academics and Catholic Identity Seton Hall University and Rector/Dean Emeritus, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. He holds a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, a licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) from Pontificio Istituto Teresianum, Rome, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Fordham University. He has served as a member of the Archdiocesan Priest Personnel Board, the Advisory Committee on Continuing Education and Ongoing Formation of Priests, the Archdiocesan Vocations Board, and the Board of Trustees of Seton Hall University. Pope John Paul II named him a Chaplain to His Holiness in 2005, with the title of Reverend Monsignor. In 2016 during the Holy Year of Mercy, the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization sought priests who were living signs "of the Father's welcome to all those in search of His forgiveness." He was the only priest from the Archdiocese of Newark formally commissioned as a Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis.
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