Meditation: Colossians 1:21-23 View NAB Reading at USCCB.org Subscriber? Login to view archives. Article Tools Text Size Print-Friendly Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary … Provided that you persevere in the faith, firmly grounded … (Colossians 1:23) Have you had moments when you feel especially close to the Lord? Maybe it’s during a particularly moving Mass or as you are taking a walk outside and breathing in the beauty of God’s creation. Times like these can fill us with such a sense of joy, love, and gratitude that we just know we are touching the presence of God. We feel that we can do anything in him—and we want to do anything for him as well. But then time marches on, and our zeal may begin to fade. Our love may burn less brightly, and we may even begin to drift away from the Lord and his ways. This kind of experience shows us that conversion really is an ongoing, lifelong process. And that’s where the Sacrament of Reconciliation comes in. It is probably one of the most powerful tools we have to help us deepen our conversion. Turning back to Jesus, confessing our sins, and experiencing his forgiveness, we are filled once again with the knowledge of God’s mercy and love for us. It’s almost like experiencing conversion all over again! What’s more, the grace poured out in Confession allows us to deal with any “estrangement” and “hostility” that still remains in our hearts and minds after our initial encounter with the Lord (Colossians 1:21). According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Conversion to Christ, the new birth of Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Body and Blood of Christ received as food have made us ‘holy and without blemish’… . Nevertheless the new life received in Christian initiation has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human nature… . This is the struggle of conversion directed toward holiness and eternal life to which the Lord never ceases to call us.”(CCC, 1426, 1428) What a blessing to know that in this “struggle of conversion” we have access to the grace of Confession! No matter how many times we fall, Jesus will always be there, ready to pick us up and encourage us to keep following him. “Lord, I thank you and praise you for all you have done in my life. Help me do all I can to deepen my relationship with you so that I may remain faithful all the days of my life.”
Posted on: Sat, 07 Sep 2013 10:48:30 +0000