This past Tuesday, the First Reading for Mass was drawn from Isaiah 40 which speaks poetically about the joyful anticipation of the coming of salvation. We hear the following words: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!” (Is. 40:3) These are the very words that John the Baptist used in Matthew 3:3 when preaching in the desert to prepare for the coming of Jesus. It is interesting to note that before quoting this Old Testament passage, John indicates how to prepare the way, using one word: “Repent!” (Mt. 3:2)
Repentance is therefore one of the most necessary things for us to do in order to truly prepare for the coming of Jesus. The season of Advent is not just about preparing to celebrate the historical event of the birth of our Savior. There is nothing terribly urgent as it relates to repentance for our celebration of that event. Advent is also about preparing us for when Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead. The date and time of that is not known, and since it can be any moment, there is urgency for us to repent from anything that would leave us unprepared for His coming at the end of our lives. This is the more substantial reason that we are encouraged to make use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Christmas. To some extent this practice of going to Confession during Advent is tied to the fact that Catholics did not receive Holy Communion as frequently as we do now, so in order to receive Holy Communion on Christmas (which is highly encouraged), going to confession was necessary in order to ensure being in the state of grace. To be sure, this reasoning is still sound, but our awareness of the unknown day and hour of His Second Coming is the grater reason for our repenting by going to confession.
For the past few years, the priests of the Cathedral have offered extended times for confessions in the latter part of Advent so as to give plenty of opportunities for the faithful to “prepare the way for the Lord.” We will be offering these extra hours this coming Friday, December 20 from Noon until 6:00 pm, then on Saturday, December 21 from 7:00 am until 5:00 pm. It would fill my heart with great joy if we had a constant line of people waiting to go to confession, eagerly preparing their hearts to welcome Christ. Not only will it be a gift to the priests who have the privilege of sharing God’s mercy with you, it will be a gift that you will be giving yourself, one far more valuable than anything you will unwrap on Christmas Day.
I know that there are people that are reading this that might be terrified of the thought of going to confession. With that in mind, I want to issue a challenge to all of us, that when we pray our three daily Hail Mary’s this week, we offer them for the following intentions:
- The people in our parish who are most afraid of going to confession
- The people in our parish who are most in need of going to confession
- Ourselves, that we might have the humility and strength to go to confession
As is often the case, doing something alone can be difficult, so invite somebody to go with you to confession. It could be a family member, a friend, or a co-worker. Perhaps all that is holding them back is having somebody join them. What a gift you can offer to another by accompanying them to experience this great gift of mercy.
Father Alford