Next Wednesday, April 9, we will observe for the 12th consecutive year, Be Reconciled Day in the Diocese of Rockford. On that day, all of our parishes, to the extent possible, will hear confessions from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Please check your parish bulletin for the exact hours.)
Your priests make this effort because on that day we are only four days away from the start of Holy Week. Having engaged in Lenten penances and prayers for five weeks, it is hoped that we are experiencing an increased need to renounce sin and draw closer to Jesus whose sacrifice on the cross we will soon recall.
By offering such widespread opportunity for confession on Be Reconciled Day, the Diocese of Rockford is seeking to make it easier for everyone’s schedule. Those dropping kids at school might be able to go right over to church earlier. Senior citizens or others with a break in their schedule might take advantage in the middle of the day. Those who have just finished work might find it convenient to confess on their way home. And families might come together in the evening after dinner.
Additionally, for some it is a source of consolation and encouragement to know that on that day they are part of a group of thousands who are making the same penitential pilgrimage in search of forgiveness. And that often is reinforced when people actually walk into church and find it filled with people carrying out this exercise in their parish.
For others, there is a preference or perhaps a comfort in confessing anonymously. On Be Reconciled Day it is possible to even to confess in a neighboring parish, thus helping them to more freely enter into the sacrament.
Whatever your circumstance, the important thing is to make the time and take the effort to make a Lenten confession. Every one of us needs to hear the words of Jesus spoken by the priest: “I absolve you from your sins.”
This is a moment for me as bishop to personally invite people who struggle with two particular challenges related to going to confession. That is, those who bear a feeling of shame for a particular sin, and those who have been away from confession for a long time. Both of these circumstances can make it difficult for people to take that step of coming for reconciliation.
Please know that priests in the confessional understand this reticence. On an occasion like Be Reconciled Day, they are especially attentive to help make the experience be an encounter with Christ’s mercy that is deep and personal for each of us. Don’t hesitate to start your confession by acknowledging any particularly difficult emotions or that it has been many years so the priest can help you through it.
For all of us, as part of any confession, we need to acknowledge to Jesus, in and through the priest, the sins that we have committed. We need to be solicitous to include, as best we can, all mortal or grave sins. Our goal is to be like the returning Prodigal Son in the Gospel last Sunday. He was united once more to his loving father by experiencing the father’s mercy.
It is often a great help to take courage in Jesus’s own acts of forgiveness. Imagine the good thief crucified next to Jesus. He admits he has merited his punishment of the cross because of what he has done. He hears Jesus tell him, “This day you will be with me in paradise.”
St. Francis de Sales, in helping people to prepare for confession, suggests thinking of Mary Magdalene. She said not a word but wept, washing the feet of Jesus with her tears, dried them with her hair and anointed his feet. Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven. … Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Lk 7, 48, 50).
If Jesus would convey that mercy to them, He will do so for us! Please, come join us on Be Reconciled Day. We look forward to seeing you.
