Divine Drudgery
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Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects. —James 5:16 (RSVCE)
The beauty of it took me aback. Walking towards the church on the Tuesday of Holy Week for a “Penance Service,” I noticed happiness, even relief, on the faces of those exiting the building.
What I encountered inside both humbled and amazed me. Cues extended along the back of the church for the priests-in-residence, stationed in their usual confessionals, and the aisles of the large sanctuary were filled with people lined up for the thirteen additional priests who sat spaced throughout the pews.
Serene piano music floated down from the loft. A handout listed the Ten Commandments, each followed by a thought-provoking question to encourage examination of one’s conscience. The first: I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me, followed by the question: Have I treated people, events, or things as more important than God?
Muffled conversations filled the sanctuary, and I noticed preriodically each priest’s hand raise in absolution and blessing with the sign of the cross.
Yikes, my turn. My words poured forth as a jumbled mess, but the priest wasn’t fazed. He spoke pragmatically, indicating acceptance of certain situations, but not in any way condoning my sins. He reminded me to pray throughout the day, assigned a simple act of penance, and then provided absolution.
Later that evening, while lying in bed, I recited the scripture assigned by my confessor and snuggled within the blanket of peace provided from the entire evening.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father of Forgiveness, thank you for the simple beauty of verbally confessing our sins and for the peace that results from the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Amen.
Quote: Go to your confessor; open your heart to him;display to him all the recesses of your soul; take the advice that he will give you with the utmost humility and simplicity. For God, who has infinite love for obedience, frequently renders profitable the counsels we take from others, but especially from those who are the guides of our souls. //St. Francis de Sales
Thought: When we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, He lifts us up (I Peter 5:6).
Like this devotion? Find one-minute photo devotions by Lisa Livezey at lisalivezey.com/olivetree
Lisa Livezey writes from Pennsylvania where she found her way to Rome via the Anglican Ordinariate. She is the author of Minding Mom: A Caregiver's Devotional Story (En Route Publishing) and contributes to the National Catholic Register, Guideposts books and devotionals, and more. Her weekly photo devotions found at lisalivezey.com/olivetree are viewed worldwide and utilized by Visio Divina prayer groups. Lisa is a wife, mom, and grandma, volunteers in church and civic settings, and serves on the executive team at Heart of the Father Ministries. She credits her husband with giving her name alliteration and sometimes on summer weekends can be spotted sailing the Chesapeake Bay alongside her spouse.
