”Your sins are forgiven, Go in Peace”…Once the “walls fall” to the ground…Then and only then will we “hear” and truly believe

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles how Peter “steps up” and fills the role as leader of this new fledgling Church that Jesus founded….”Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call”………Notice how Peter tells the people they must repent first before they are baptized….Both John the Baptist and Jesus said the exact same thing in the exact same order…Before the grace of God can truly penetrate our soul, we must repent…..Our sins act like a wall when it comes to God’s grace entering into our soul and transforming us into the people we were born to be…..While it is important “to believe”, far too many are reluctant to repent…..One Sacramental Confession opens the door wide to God’s grace…The humble fisherman, who the world today knows as St St Peter is slowly becoming who he was born to be…We will read about his transformation in the days to come in the readings at the Mass…Just as Peter allowed God to work in his life…If we do the same...We too will be transformed

“Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield. May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us who have put our hope in you.”

I can remember my first “Adult Sacramental Confession”, I just returned from college…My life was a mess…I graduated college in four years but in many ways instead of maturing, I regressed…This is not an uncommon story among many American young men and women who go away to college and are way too immature to make adult decisions with all the freedom staring them in the face…Anyway, I returned home and began re-building my life one step at a time….I remember it was Saturday and my parish Church was empty…..I sat alone in front of the Blessed Sacrament which was in the Tabernacle…I knew enough to go to God at this moment in my life and for that I thank my parents and all the people who formed me through my Catholic education up and until this point in my life…As I sat before the Blessed Sacrament, a wave of sadness came over me…I can not put it into words or explain it properly…But it was a tidal wave of deep sadness as a result of all the wrong decisions I had made…And I wept bitterly…Very possibly more than I ever wept before or have since…Following that moment, I went to confession…And from there I believe my journey began and still moves forward to this very day…..Why share this with you?….Because just as St Peter tells the people of Israel - I am telling you - First we must repent before we truly begin to believe….The “walls” must be broken down!…And that is why Jesus instituted a Church, which gives us the Sacraments….Some many be reading this now and are saying to themselves…”I do not need to confess my sins to a Priest”…..With all due respect, I disagree with that sentiment…….Something happens internally to a person when a Priest absolves them from a life time of sin…Something much more profound happens, which we can not self-manufacture - (Then if you “Ask God” privately too forgive you).....Not only are you forgiven, but you are given the grace of the Sacrament, which is empowering and propels you forward……St Peter was transformed and look at what God did with and through this simple man…Just think what he could do with you?

“Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining. Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!”

We are reminded today at Mass that we all are in need of forgiveness…We are told over and over again in the pages of Holy Scripture - Repent & Believe the Gospel…..The order of that process is important and that is what St Peter tells us today…..We must “break down the walls”, which keep us from God…Those walls begin to crumble with these words…”Bless me Father - Its been "XX" since my last Confession….And those walls collapse entirely with these words said from the mouth of a Catholic Priest…”Your sins are forgiven, Go in Peace”…Once the “walls fall” to the ground…Then and only then will we “hear” and truly believe