The pearl of great price: The Eucharist, the child, the poor. Sermon of July 24th

St. Anthony of Egypt sold all he had, entered the desert,
and endured every trial with joy - he had found the pearl of great price!

17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

July 24^th, 2011

Matthew 13:44-52

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.

When we hear the parables of the treasure and of the pearl, and learn how we are to be ready to sacrifice all things for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven, we may recall the memory of St. Anthony of the Desert – the Father of Monasticism, who lived at the turn of the 4^th century.

St. Anthony was only a young man, about 18 years old, when his parents both died and he was left an orphan. Wondering what the good Lord desired of him, he felt inspired to go to the church. Upon entering, Anthony heard the words of St. Matthew’s Gospel being proclaimed: If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me.

The young St. Anthony was deeply moved by these words and felt inspired to give generously to the poor. You see, his family had been very wealthy, so he sold a good portion of his inheritance and gave it to the poor.

However, he did not give everything away – perhaps he was thinking, “Lord, if you are really serious, if you want me to give over everything; you are ‘gonna have to say it directly!”

[those, of course, are my own words … I doubt St. Anthony would have put it quite that way!] J

Shortly thereafter, Anthony again entered the Church and heard the words of St. Luke’s Gospel: Take nothing for your journey; neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats.

Deeply moved by the Holy Spirit, St. Anthony immediately went forth, sold what little inheritance was left to him, and gave the money to the poor. Then, this heroic soldier of Christ, left the world and entered the desert as a hermit. There he would remain for nearly 100 years!

Many people came to St. Anthony to seek his counsel, and he ultimately founded the first monasteries in the history of the Church. Was it easy? Of course it wasn’t easy! He lived in the desert of Egypt! It was very hard, he suffered much, he was bothered by all sorts of crazy people coming and pestering him. And, on top of all that, he suffered terribly from the attacks of demons!

But St. Anthony persevered through all of this because he was filled with a profound spirit of joy. He had found that treasure, he had taken possession of the pearl – having left all things, he obtained the Kingdom.

Now, most of us are not called to seek the pearl and the treasure out in the desert. Surely, some here are called in this way – there are likely some among our young men and women who are called to leave all and follow God through the vocation to the religious life or to the priesthood. But most of us will search for the treasure in the ordinary circumstances of daily life. Where then shall we find the Kingdom in midst of the world?

I want to point out three places where we find the treasure, where we gain that pearl – and these are three occasions which are common and ordinary.

First, we find the treasure in the Sunday Mass. If the Eucharist isn’t the pearl of great price, I don’t know what is! It is at the Mass that we gain the riches of everlasting life. Here, in our Sunday worship, we store up treasures in heaven.

How valuable the Mass is! There is nothing more important in our week than Sunday Mass

In fact, Sunday Mass (or Mass on Saturday evening) is so valuable … why, it’s even more important than hunting and fishing season! J

The Eucharist is so important, that we wouldn’t ever want to miss it or skip out on the Mass in order to fish or hunt. If we truly understood the value of the Mass and the Gift that we receive, we would never skip Mass – not for travel, not for vacation, not for games.

Remember, this isn’t just about an obligation (though, it is an obligation); we are talking about the treasure and about the pearl – we have found the Kingdom, be filled with joy and give all things in order to attend Sunday Mass every week without exception.

Second, we find the pear of great price in all the good things that God has in store for marriage and family life. If the child isn’t the pear, I don’t know what is! The gift of the child, how could we ever reject the child?!

And yet, far too often, many people (and even many Catholics) refuse to accept the gift of children. Using artificial means of regulating fertility is like finding the treasure and abandoning it. If we knew the gift of the child, we would never use birth control. A nation which uses contraception is a nation which has rejected the child.

God wants us to trust in him! Will it be hard? Of course it will be hard! Remember, Anthony was in the desert for 100 years; it wasn’t easy, but he was joyful. So too, we also must be joyful – consider the gift of the child and the grace of God who will always provide for us, if only we trust in him.

The way to space out children and to be responsible in parenting is to use Natural Family Planning, not contraception. Natural Family Planning is the great means for parents to find the treasure of the Kingdom and to receive God’s plan for their family with joy.

Third, we find the treasure in being generous to the poor. The poor are that treasure hidden in society, neglected and ignored by so many. If we cannot see that the poor are that pearl, then we have missed Christ who is present to us through them.

The US Dollar is losing strength every day – I hear that it is worth less even than the Canadian Dollar. You may as well give your money to the poor before it is worth nothing at all! J

Mercy covers a multitude of sins, and those who are generous to the poor are the true friends of God.

Finally, if we really believe that these three – the Mass, the child, and the poor – truly are the pearl and the treasure, then we ought to be filled with joy! Here is our means of attaining to the Kingdom of God, which is worth more than any passing treasures of earth; let us sacrifice all our self-love, all our selfishness, all our distrust. You will lose nothing, but you gain everything! And, consumed with the joy of God’s Kingdom, we should be bold in speaking of these things with others.

If we believe that the Eucharist is the great Gift that it is, we will try to bring fallen-away Catholic back to Mass. If we know that the child is a pearl given us by the Lord, we will not be afraid to proclaim the truth about marriage and family, and to encourage others to use Natural Family Planning [and parents and grandparents have a special obligation to explain this to their children]. Finally, if we know that the downtrodden are that true treasure, we will not be ashamed to defend the poor and to be a witness of God’s preferential love for them.

Be joyful! Though these pearls and treasures may only be obtained through much sacrifice, if only you preserver in God’s love, you shall soon attain to life everlasting.

As you walk along the way, Christ is passing by. Sermon of May 8th

3^rd Sunday of Easter

May 8^th, 2011

Luke 24:13-35

Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way?

I would like to share with you a very personal story from my time in seminary. In fact, I want to tell you about an experience I had in confession while I was training for the priesthood. You see, all the seminarians go to confession at least once each month; many of us even would go every week. And the seminary has older, experienced, and wise priests who assist the seminarians in the spiritual life and who are available for the sacrament of reconciliation.

I recall on time when I went to confession to one of these wise old monsignors, a holy and devout man – and, before we began the confession, he told me that we would read a passage of the Scriptures and listen to what the Lord had to say to me in the sacrament.

The old priest proceeded to open the Bible at random and, in a manner with which I am sure many of you are familiar, he read the first passage that he came to. For my part, I prayed to the good Lord that I might be open to hear what he wanted to tell me through this Bible verse.

But the passage the monsignor began to read was like one of those obscure parts of the Old Testament – something like, “So and so begot so and so who begot so and so who begot so and so …” and so forth. I’ll be honest, I could not immediately see what this passage had to do with my life or how the Lord was speaking to me through it. So I prayed, “Lord open my heart and my mind to hear your voice.”

Well, the priest finished the passage, closed the Bible and sat back in prayer. I could tell he was moved by the Holy Spirit and that whatever he said next would be filled with wisdom. The holy old priest began at that moment to pray – and he said, “Lord … we have no idea what you are trying to tell us through that Bible verse!” J

Indeed, it caught me by such surprise that I too had to chuckle a bit.

Maybe we feel that way pretty often as we read the Scriptures. We think, “Lord, what do you want from me? What are you telling me?” Perhaps our hearts and minds are closed and we cannot recognize the Lord’s voice even in the Scriptures themselves.

This was very much the experience of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They did not yet understand the Scriptures, nor did they understand what Christ wanted from them or for them. They were lost and in darkness – but the Lord came into their midst and revealed himself. In the breaking of the bread, that is in the Eucharistic mystery, these two disciples recognized the Lord and come to understand the true meaning of the Scriptures.

There are, of course, many techniques for reading the Bible effectively. There are many valid and good methods of prayer – but among them all, one that seems to be particularly helpful in the modern day is to try to put ourselves into the biblical narrative. As we read a passage from the Bible, it may be helpful to try to identify with one or more of the biblical characters – to see ourselves reflected in the men and women spoken of in the Bible story.

As we read of the mysterious encounter on the road to Emmaus, it is probably very easy for us to identify with Cleopas and his companion – we can easily recognize ourselves in these two; how we meet Christ at the most unexpected but also most necessary times. And this is very good – we are very much like those two.

However, I would like to look at the story from a slightly different perspective – it is that which was given by St. Josemaria Escriva, a Spanish priest during their Civil War and truly one of the greatest priests of modern times. Fr. Escriva tells us that we ought not only to see ourselves in those two disciples, but we must identify with Christ Jesus himself.

As those two disciples went along the way, they were on the point of despair, steeped in sorrow and lost in spiritual darkness. They are symbolic of the world today: A world of inexpressible sorrow, a world which is nearly lost in despair. Indeed, the great sin of the modern age is not overindulgence, it’s despair! We live in an age without hope and without joy – and, as Christians, we have much to offer.

The characteristic of the Christian faith is supernatural joy. What the Christian has to offer the world is hope in the midst of suffering, joy in the midst of darkness. We must spread the light of Christ, which is the teachings of his Gospel, to all peoples – for this alone will bring the world true joy and true peace.

In this respect, St. Josemaria tells us that we are to be as Christ to the world. When we read this passage we must learn to see ourselves reflected in the Risen Lord. The holy priest tells us that, when we finish a conversation with co-workers, or neighbors, or family and friends, they ought to be inspired to turn to one another and say, “Were not our hearts burning within us as that Christian spoke to us on the way!”

Are we Christ to the world? Do we ignite the fire of divine charity in the hearts of those with whom we speak? Are we as Christ not only to our friends and loved ones, but also to those whom we maybe don’t like so much?

This is the challenge which Fr. Escriva gives us today and throughout this week – That we might imitate Christ and bring the joy of the Gospel to those whom we meet, whosoever they may be.

And, as we walk along the way, may people recognize that in us Christ is passing by.

Don't be a Pharisee, go to confession this Lent. Sermon of April 3rd

4^th Sunday of Lent, Year A

April 3^rd, 2011

John 9:1-41

If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, “We see,” so your sin remains.

In seminary training, beyond the many hours of academic courses focused on theological formation, the young men training to be priests receive also some classes in more practical matters of priestly ministry. Among these courses directed towards pastoral work, homiletics – the instruction in how to write and deliver a good homily or sermon – certainly has a central place.

Now, in these homiletics courses, the professors tell the seminarians of what may be termed the “golden rule” of successful sermons. This essential axiom goes something like this: A long Gospel means a short homily. J

Indeed, there is much truth to this statement: The Church, in giving us this extremely long Gospel (which is surpassed in length only by the Passion accounts), desires that we should meditate upon this passage throughout the week. The task of the homilist, then, is simply to point out a few key themes – the Holy Spirit will do the rest as we ponder over these words in our hearts through the next several days.

I want to focus specifically on these Pharisees: These men who were so wise and lerned in the Scriptures, the religious leaders of the day; who yet find themselves, at the end of the passage, in utter blindness. What was it that led these men to reject the Christ, only to cast themselves out into the darkness?

The root of their error is in their approach to sin. These Pharisees did not deny that sin exists, but rather chose to point out the sins of others, instead of admitting their own brokenness. It is not so much that they claimed to be perfect – I am quite sure that the Pharisees would have all admitted that they had at least some little things to work on – rather, they chose to direct attention away from their “small” imperfections by pointing out what they considered to be the grave sins of others.

“Sure,” the Pharisees tell us, “we are not perfect. But at least we are not so bad as the rest, at least we aren’t so great of sinners as that blind man is! Look, he was blind from birth, he was born in sin, he is steeped entirely in sin! We may not be perfect, but we are not that bad – at least not compared to him!”

Sometimes, we also do this. When we say to ourselves, “Well, I know I’m not perfect, but I’m not nearly so bad as Hitler or the Nazis, or Stalin.” As though our measure were genocide and mass murder!

Or again, without referring to history but sticking with our own day, we might try to deflect attention from our personal sins by pointing out the sins and weaknesses of politicians or businessmen – “They are all just a bunch of greedy, self-centered scoundrels! I’m so glad that I’m not a sinner like them!”

Finally, when all else fails and we are really under pressure, we may stoop so low as to say… “True, maybe I do have some small faults, but at least I’m not as bad as Charlie Sheen!” J

This is a very dangerous path, however. We recall that Jesus came not for the righteous, but for sinners. If we are set on pointing out how other people are so much worse than us, we are actually removing ourselves from the redemption accomplished in Christ. If we are not sinners, we have no need of a Savior. If think that we are basically good, then we have cast ourselves out from the Church – because, the Church on earth is made up of sinners who look to the Savior for healing, mercy and forgiveness.

This was the error of the Pharisees: They were “basically good people” and they knew it! They didn’t think of themselves as sinners, so they balked at the idea of redemption – “What need have we of redemption? We are doing just fine. We can see!” Thus, they became utterly blind; and, lost in their spiritual blindness, they lose all hope of heaven.

Let’s be clear: The Pharisees are the type of people who don’t go to confession. The blind Pharisees of today are those Catholics who don’t even go to confession during Lent!  How could anyone neglect confession during Lent?!

If we are honest with ourselves and honest to God, we will get to the sacrament of Reconciliation, and we will frequent it often. We know we are sinners, and God certainly knows we are sinners – why remain in that blindness? Why remain in that sin? Christ has given us the sacrament so that we may be forgiven. The Savior gives us confession so that we might be more joyful!

Notice, in the Gospel, the Lord makes use of a very strange ritual in order to heal the blind man. Certainly, Jesus could have healed the man immediately, simply by a word or the slightest movement of his will. However, Christ doesn’t do it that way – instead, he spits on the ground and makes mud. Then he puts this mud on the man’s eyes and tells him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam.

Now the blind man could have said, “This is crazy! Don’t put that spittle on my eyes!” It is a very strange ritual indeed. But, if the blind man had resisted or refused the ritual, he would not have been healed. So, he does not complain – moreover, we mention that this little ritual is a small price to pay for the miraculous healing!

We also have a somewhat strange ritual. We line up outside a box, then (when our turn comes) we go in and tell our sins to a man who has been ordained a priest. Let’s be honest, it is quite strange. But it’s the ritual Christ has given us.

Certainly, the Lord could just forgive our sins immediately and without the ritual – but he chose to give us the sacrament, just as he chose to use the mud for the man born blind. How could we resist? What a small price to pay for the forgiveness of our sins!

Indeed, I admit that, when we look at these two rituals, we might prefer the mud-option (given the choice)! J But that’s not what Christ gave us. He gave us the sacrament. He gave us confession.

Why remain in the darkness? Why remain blind? Christ wants us to see. Through a return to the healing sacrament, the light of the Savior will illumine our hearts and lead us into the great joy of life everlasting.

The happiness which you desire, Sermon of January 30th

So great is the Love of Christ, that he taught his disciples...

 4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

January 30^th, 2011

Matthew 5:1-12a

Jesus began to teach them saying, “Blessed are they…”

When we think of morality and Christian ethics, we probably think of one of two ideas – either we consider law or the conscience. If we think of the law as the foundation of ethics, we emphasize the importance of objective principles: the natural law, divine positive law, and even civil law. If, on the other hand, we think of the moral conscience of the individual as the foundation of ethics, we emphasize the particular circumstances of the individual and the importance of having a well-formed conscience.

Nevertheless, for the Catholic tradition, the foundation of Christian ethics is neither the law nor the personal conscience, but the human desire for happiness. The pursuit of happiness is the starting point for all moral doctrine.

The Sermon on the Mount is the summation of the Christian life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ our Savior outlines the whole of Christian ethics and morality – but he does not begin with law or with the personal conscience, rather he begins with the Beatitudes.

Beatitude is nothing other than perfect happiness. When the Lord says “blessed are the poor” or “blessed are the merciful”, this could also be translated as “happy are the poor” and “happy are the merciful”. The blessedness of which Christ speaks in the beatitudes is the happiness of the Christian life, the happiness and joy of the life of grace.

It is happiness and the pursuit of happiness which is the foundation of Christian ethics. The whole goal of morality and of all the laws of the Church is our happiness. Christ knows what will make us happy, for he created us – he has given us the New Law of the Gospel so that we might attain to this perfect happiness.

Most certainly, the perfection of all happiness can only be attained in heaven. Nevertheless, there is something of a participation in this total joy already in this life – this is why our Savior says, “Blessed ARE they…” He does not say, “Blessed will they be”, but “Blessed ARE they”. Already, even in this life, there is a happiness and a blessedness which those who follow God enjoy.

Nothing brings more joy than the possession of God – and, without this participation in the divine life, no other creature can bring any true joy. We have been created for happiness; if we do not find this happiness in the enjoyment of God, we will begin to seek it in all the most inappropriate places in this life. Unless we find happiness in God, especially through the intimate union with God attained only through prayer, we will look for joy in the basest realities of this life.

But this is the great paradox of Christian joy – the soul in the state of grace, united to God, is able to rejoice even in the midst of great suffering and persecution! For this reason Jesus said that the poor and hungry and persecuted are blessed – if we find our consolation in God alone, no suffering or hardship in this life will deprive us of that deepest joy and happiness.

Here, we think of the many martyrs of the early Church. In particular, we consider St. Lawrence, the early roman deacon.

Lawrence was a deacon of the Church of Rome in the early centuries. He was known for his joy and love of the poor, and for his good humor. The emperor, because he hated Christianity and wished to destroy the true faith, persecuted the Christians of Rome greatly. St. Lawrence also was persecuted and even arrested and sentenced to death. He was to be cooked alive over a fire, but he went courageously to his death – so great was his faith, for he found all his happiness in God alone!

When he was being cooked alive over the fire, Lawrence (in his characteristic spirit of good humor) cried out, “I am done on this side, turn me over!” So filled was he with the enjoyment of God and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, that he was able to laugh and be of good cheer even in the midst of terrible physical torments.

You too, as often as you are in the state of grace, are filled with the same Holy Spirit which so inspired St. Lawrence! The great challenge for us is to live more fully from the joy of God and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Rather than seeking consolation in the things of this life, Jesus our Savoir is asking you and I to give ourselves over to his Sacred Heart. Apart from God, there is no joy in this life; but with God, all things fall into place and become a means of attaining the perfect joy which God has reserved for us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Shunning the false joys and consolations of this world, we turn with confidence to the Heart of our Savior – in his Most Sacred Heart, we will find the fullness of beatitude: the beginning of life everlasting.

Do you want to be more joyful?

3^rd Sunday of Advent, Year A.

December 12^th, 2010

Gaudete Sunday

Rejoice in the Lord always, I say it again rejoice! The Lord is near.

Recently, I had the opportunity to go Christmas caroling with the children from our parish grade school. And, before the kids went out to sing in the various places around the city, the teachers had to remind them to smile. Children, of course, can get a little nervous when in front of a crowd, and so it was necessary for the teachers to remind them to be joyful when singing their Christmas songs.

There is indeed something about Christmas carols which requires that we rejoice as we sing them. There is something about the very nature of Christmas which demands joy.

Today is Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete simply means “rejoice”. The Church tells us to be joyful in the Lord; and it is not a recommendation, it is a command The Faith demands that we Christians be joyful, that we truly do rejoice in the Lord.

But what is this joy which the faith requires? Is it, perhaps, a passing emotion? No, of course not. The joy of which we speak is the spiritual and supernatural joy the soul takes in the Lord when she is in the state of grace. Joy is an effect of the theological virtue of charity – it is as stable in the soul as the state of grace.

In fact, joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit; that is, it is the activity of the Holy Spirit working in and through us! This is why the Church can demand that we be joyful – true joy is always present in the soul which is united to the Holy Spirit through grace.

Precisely because spiritual joy is not a passing emotion, the saints could be joyful even in the midst of terrible hardship and persecution. We can consider how many of the martyrs rejoiced even as they were tortured and killed.

Consider the saint presented to us in today’s Gospel: St. John the Baptist. John lived a very austere and difficult life. He was out in the desert, eating locusts and wild honey. He was not dressed in fine clothes, but in camels hair. John’s life was certainly not easy and he did not have hardly any material comforts – and yet he rejoiced to see the day of the Lord and to point out the Messiah when he came. Moreover, even at the end of his life, when, due to the malice of Herod, John awaited his martyrdom; he was nevertheless joyful and looked for consolation not in the things of this life, but in the Lord.

This is the lesson to be learned from John – if we desire to be truly joyful, we must not be like a reed swayed in the wind, we must not be tossed about by our passions and our worldly cares, we must not look for consolation in the base realities of this life; rather, we must be rooted in the Lord and find all our joy in him.

And so, we have an opportunity to ask ourselves: Am I as joyful as I would like to be? Am I as joyful as I should be? Let us be honest, why do we lack the joy which Christ desires for us?

Now I know that we are all very busy and there are many demands pressing in on every side. Perhaps even we might feel stretched too thin, exhausted. We might think that we are not has happy and joyful as we should be because there are just too many demands that we have to live up to.

My brothers and sisters, it is a lie. There is only one reason why you are not joyful – you sin too often and you pray too little. Only one thing can rob us of spiritual joy, and that is sin. For only sin can take away divine grace.

It is time to stop making all these excuses. Yes, it may be true, perhaps life is hard and demands too much. But the proper response to this is to seek our consolation in Christ. If we do not take our delight in Christ through daily meditation, we will begin to seek joy in all the wrong places. The Lord says, “I know you are tired, I know that life is burdensome to you; then leave the world, even if for just a moment. Come to me and rest a while in prayer. Enter my Sacred Heart and find your true peace, your true joy.”

Advent is a time to be free of all those sins which bind us. Now is the time to begin anew the life of grace, to strive for virtue with greater zeal than before.

Consider the love which Christ our God showed us in becoming a child to save us. May his second coming be for us the fulfillment of all joy.

Advent Confession, Sermon of December 5th

2^nd Sunday of Advent, Year A.

December 5^th, 2010.

Matthew 3:1-12

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!

Advent is confession for the communion of Christmas. Advent is confession for Christmas’ communion.

What does this phrase really mean? Well, let’s be straightforward – it means that each and every person in the parish who has reached the age of reason should go to confession at least one time during the season of Advent. All of us should go to confession at least once during Advent, in order to be well prepared to receive Christ more fully this Christmas.

Advent is a sort of confession, in preparation for the communion with Christ which we must more deeply enter into at Christmas. It is for this reason that St. John the Baptist tells us, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Notice, fist John challenges us, then he gives us a word of encouragement.

First, John says, “Repent.” This is the challenge – it is the call to turn away from sin, to rid ourselves of all the worldly attachment which plague us. But then he continues, “For the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Here is the encouragement – this is the time of grace, this is the time for conversion, the Lord will help you, do not be discouraged.

Advent is confession for Christmas’ communion. Advent is that time to be free from those same old sins which weigh us down. Advent is the time to consider that the Lord is coming, grace is here; let us use this grace well.

In order to understand more fully how Advent is like confession and Christmas like communion, it is necessary to consider the relation between these two sacraments.

How is confession related to communion?

Obviously, confession is given as that means of healing and forgiveness so that we can enter into communion more deeply and with greater fruitfulness. Confession is a means of preparing the way of the Lord, readying our hearts for the reception Christ’s sacramental presence in the Blessed Sacrament.

Sometimes, confession is necessary before communion – whenever we have committed a mortal sin, it is necessary to first go to confession before coming to receive communion; forgiveness is needed before we are prepared to enter into union with our Lord.

Here it is good to mention that intentionally skipping Mass on Sunday, without a serious reason, is a mortal sin – if we have skipped Mass on a Sunday or a holy day of obligation, we must first receive the Lord’s forgiveness through confession before we receive him sacramentally in communion. Moreover, it must be mentioned that December 8^th is the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is a holy day of obligation.  If we are planning on skipping Mass this coming Wednesday (December 8^th), then we cannot come to communion today – we must be honest with God, we must never receive communion when we are separated from Christ through serious sin.

However, to return to confession and communion and the relation to Advent – we must heed the call of John the Baptist, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” What we cannot do, what would be utterly disastrous for our spiritual lives, would be to think that we really have no need of repentance. This alone will destroy our life with Christ, if we say, “Oh, I am basically a pretty good person.” No! We are sinners, and we stand in great need of a Savior!

This is what led John the Baptist to treat the Pharisees so harshly – he called them a “brood of vipers” because they considered themselves to be basically good people who didn’t really need to repent. The Pharisees thought that they really had no great need of a Savior, because they didn’t think that they were really sinners. And, it is true, if we deny our sin, then we deny our Redeemer.

This Advent we ask the Lord to purify us of this Pharisaic tendency to deny our sinfulness and our need for God’s mercy and forgiveness. It is the Pharisee who says that he doesn’t really need to go to confession. It is the Pharisee who says that he really doesn’t have any sins to confess.

We, however, must know our sinfulness and our need for God’s grace. It would be good for each of us to get in the habit of making a more regular confession, since this helps us to be ever more conscious of our faults and of God’s love and mercy. Those who come to Mass every Sunday, should go to confession at least every other month. For those who attend daily Mass, we ought to confess at least once a month. These two sacraments work together – confession and communion. They are meant to be received together, and together they will bring us happily to life everlasting.