”You know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?”…..All is forgiven and forgotten when we say these six simple words - “I am sorry, please forgive me”

Today at Holy Mass we hear from a Letter to the Hebrews in the first reading….This teaching turns the way people practice their faith upside down…It also addresses a reality which we see play out today in human behavior…..”This is the covenant I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord: “I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them upon their minds, "he also says: Their sins and their evildoing I will remember no more. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin.”….Let’s break this down……Through our common Baptism, which is the first installment of the Holy Spirit, the law of God, some call it the Natural Law is placed in the forefront of our mind and heart…..That law is a guiding principal to live our life…And because we are human, we sometimes fail…So God established a Church and in that Church we can have our sins forgiven through the Sacrament of Reconciliation - But you know that - This is the interesting part about this message, which is reflected in human behavior to this day…Instead of having our sins formally forgiven through the Sacrament, people try to “make up” for sins, by doing something good…..People do that, sometimes without even realizing it…They do something wrong and think to themself.......”If I do something good, that sin will be wiped away and I will feel better”….....Sadly, it does not work that way…..While it is always good to do the right thing after making a mistake, sins are only forgiven when we take them to God…And that is why Jesus established a Church…And that is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is vital…..Trying to “paper over” a sin committed by doing “something good” will never take away the guilt of committing that sin….Sin must be addressed head on….Then and only then does the guilt go away and peace of heart returns….God is not interested in our “sacrifices”, He is interested in freeing us from the bondage of sin.

“The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever”

During my freshman year of college I was completely out of control….Getting “written up” in my dorm for infraction after infraction…Right before I got thrown out of my freshman dorm I was on probation…One more screw up and I was out…So what do I do?…Get drunk in the dorm with my friends once again!…This particular night, one of my buddies wanted to get even with the Resident Advisor (RA), who was an upper class men who lived in our freshman dorm. His role was to watch over the under class men…Anyway back to my story…This RA hated me and for good reason…So my buddy wanted to get “even with him”….So after he was good and drunk, he pours bleach under the RA's door while he was sleeping…Of course all hell broke out the next day and the RA thought I did it…Needless to say I was not going to tell the RA who did it, so I am like to myself…Its over, they are throwing me out….As the days go on, my buddy and I had an 8:30am class and would walk to it together…This one particular day, he wakes me up very early and had this serious look on his face…..I will never forget it…He tells me, I told the Resident Advisor it was me who poured the beach under his door…I did not want him to blame you…Needless to say, my buddy got into a ton of trouble…..Why am I telling you this story….My friends act of courage and “coming clean” with the harm he caused removed any resentment that may have existed between us…It also, believe it or not brought him peace…When he came to wake me up early that morning, he looked like he did not sleep all night…Why tell you this?…Time does not heal wounds caused by sin….Nor does, “buying someone a present” whom you harmed…What heals wounds and builds bridges are these three simple words said: “I am sorry”….And when we do that in the Sacrament of Reconciliation as Catholics with a priest…All is forgiven and we begin the journey of healing….Most importantly - All is forgotten!

“Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin”

Today at Holy Mass, the first reading is attempting to teach us something…That God’s law is written on our hearts and in our mind….It also tries to tell us…..Because God loves us, all we have to do is say I am sorry when we screw up…Take it from me, because I screw up a lot!…..Think about what a father does with his sons, people like you and me in the here and now….If your son does something really wrong and comes to you and says…”Dad, I screwed up, I am so sorry”….What does a good father do?…He addresses the “screw up” and then continues loving his son….This is also how bonds strengthen and respect grows between a father and son….Never be afraid to say, “I am sorry” to your father who loves you…There is nothing one of my three sons can do that can not be fixed if they come to me…Why? - Because I love them!….”You know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?”…..All is forgiven and forgotten when we say these six simple words - “I am sorry, please forgive me”