Here in the Diocese of Rockford, a special emphasis has been placed on reconciliation this Lent. While the sacrament of confession is regularly available in our parishes, a particular opportunity will present itself next Wednesday, April 9.

On that day, which we are calling “Be Reconciled,” there will be opportunities throughout the diocese to go to confession from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. With that opportunity comes a special invitation to those who have been away from confession or separated from the Church for a long time. They, in particular, are welcome for the sacrament of reconciliation.

Prior to making any confession, a period of prayer and reflection is an appropriate preparation. If it has been a while, maybe these next few days before April 9 would be a good time to prepare. And to help, we can turn to one of the greatest of Jesus’ parables, that of the Prodigal Son. That is a story that has many helpful thoughts about sin, conversion, forgiveness and God’s love.

As we recall, when the younger son decided to leave home, he demanded of his father the inheritance that was, to his mind, coming to him. In effect, he was saying to his father, “I can’t wait for you to die.”
We feel in his words and in his attitude the underlying offense that is present in every sin. That is, his break with his father’s love. And it is followed by the son’s turning his back on his father as he walks down the road to leave home.

But the effects of his sin are not confined to the moment of his conversation with his father or his huffy departure. We sense that the son leaves in blindness.

He is blinded by the earthly richness of his full pockets. He is blinded that his earthly moment of happiness will not last. And he is blinded by the falsity of his new found friends, attracted by his wealth but soon to abandon him when it runs out.

What a metaphor for sin! In whatever form our own sinfulness manifests itself, we too offend against God’s love. We too are blinded by temptation or anger, or whatever has led us to sin by placing ourselves above our heavenly Father.

By our sin we are less than we should be. And each sin adds to the disharmony among those around us and in the world.

Later, when that son is at his wit’s end and he is reduced to feeding pigs, his thoughts turn again to his father. His blindness fades as he recalls the love he once knew. He turns to come home, to be reconciled.

As we prepare for confession, we need to think of that father offended by the younger son. He not only has put up with the son’s terrible offense without responding in anger, but he remains open-hearted, scanning the horizon in hope and anticipation of his return.

When finally he sees the son, he does not wait, he runs to him. He cuts off the son’s prepared and sorrowful speech, but only after his son has said one thing, “I have sinned.”

Here, of course, is Christ’s point. The Father is waiting for each of us, offering His forgiveness for whatever our sin is if only we turn back to Him. Like the son, we need only to say, “I have sinned” and the Father’s embrace is ours.

Because the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, the Father’s pardon, given to Christ and entrusted to the Church, is precisely what we receive in the sacrament of confession. In hearing those words in the confessional, “I absolve you from your sins,” we, too, change from being a prodigal son or daughter to one forgiven and reconciled. We share the joy of the son, and the rejoicing of our Father in heaven.

Come to confession anytime during Lent. April 9 is a particularly special moment. Either way, let’s use Lent to “Be Reconciled.”