God helps those who help themselves - Help yourself and go to Confession

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St John we hear the story about the woman caught in adultery….We all have heard this story before….The woman is condemned to death and Jesus saves her life from an angry mob……“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”……Upon hearing this statement, the men who were about to stone the adulterous woman all walk away….Jesus then confronts the woman and tells her that he does not condemn her but then tells her to….”Go, and from now on do not sin any more”….Jesus clearly addresses the sin and asks the woman to address it as well - To change her life…..While we walk this earth, we all make mistakes - All of us - Even the best of us are sinners…..When you get right down to it - All Jesus really wants from us is our sins…And we as Catholics have been given an opportunity to give our sins to Christ through the Sacrament of Reconciliation…Its there that we are not only forgiven but given grace to overcome our sins……The Church must be clear, as Jesus was clear today in the Gospel…Sin causes death and sin destroys lives….The Church must clearly address the sins of our culture - While doing this - The Church must also make it crystal clear that the doors are always open for reconciliation with God…..Sacramental Confession must be made more accessible - One hour on Saturday each week is not enough!……In order to receive the benefits of divine grace, most especially when we receive Jesus at Mass in the Blessed Sacrament, which the Church requires the lay faithful to be in the state of grace - Catholics must confess their sins! - Is this what is happening? - Are the lines to the Confessional long? - If they are not they need to be!

“I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live”

My office in New York City is relatively close to St Patrick’s Cathedral…For a while I would attend Mass at the Cathedral on Friday’s at noon….Before midday Mass, Confession was made available by a priest….I would often go to Confession before the Mass and I would also marvel at how long the confession line was…For as crazy as New York City is - The Confession line was always long and the people who were on that line ranged from businessmen, to blue-collar workers, to tourists, to even priests…When I saw this, I was always deeply edified and impressed….Where my family attends Sunday Mass, the late pastor Fr Stanley Kostrzomb would always make himself available for confession….And the lines were always long as well….This should tell us something - If the Church makes Confession available and preaches the importance of going to confession frequently from the pulpit, the lay-faithful will make frequent confession a practice once again…..In my humble opinion, this needs to happen…..As Catholics we have been given everything, sadly many are not utilizing all the gifts given to us by Jesus himself through the Church….Praying the Rosary everyday and going to Mass on Sunday is very important…But if we are not confessing our sins regularly, once a month as recommended by the saints, we are shortchanging ourselves!…..The doors of our soul must be open for grace to enter! - Frequent Sacramental Confession does just that - It opens the “flood-gates” of grace to enter our soul…Then when we pray the Rosary daily and attend Mass with our family on Sunday - The grace of God floods into our soul and animates our life…..It’s not “rocket-science”….Its time to get back to basics!

“Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side……Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come”

Today in the Gospel from Mass Jesus addressed a mob who wanted to condemn a sinful woman…Jesus tells these men something very interesting….“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”…Keep in mind, the men who were condemning this adulterous woman were the “righteous” people of Jesus’ society….Yet Jesus  is “calling them out”….Even the righteous among us are sinners!…..What does that say about us today?….We all are in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness but if we do not ask for it - We do not receive it!….This is why the Catholic Church provides us with the opportunity to go to Confession….But if we as the Lay-Faithful do not utilize this gift - We will not receive God’s mercy and forgiveness….How many people today, this includes many Baptized Catholics take for granted God’s mercy?…..”God understands” - “I don’t have to tell my sins to a Priest”……We have all heard these statements before….And when I hear them I cringe! - Its a tragedy!…….Jesus Christ was sent by God the Father to forgive the sins of the world but we must cooperate with him in order for that mission to be accomplished…..How do we cooperate? - It begins with us individually going to Confession frequently….It begins with these words…”Bless me Father for I have sinned”….Again, its not rocket-science…….We all need God’s grace to overcome our sins and that grace is available to us when we live Sacramentally…..Without Sacramental grace - We remain in our sin and sin results in death…..God helps those who help themselves - Help yourself and go to Confession……JMJ