Sermon on the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time
How to read: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46 1 Corinthians 10:31—11: 1 Mark 1:40-45
St. Mark’s Gospel contains the “Secret of the Messiah.” This is the term scholars use to refer to Jesus’ reluctance to be recognized as the Messiah. Even everything Jesus does in this Gospel—healing the sick, casting out demons, feeding crowds, and even raising the dead—reveals that Jesus is the Messiah. Christ is the promised and long-awaited Messiah of Israel.
Jesus said this to the leper he was cleansing.
Make sure you don’t say anything to anyone,
But go and show yourself to the priest.
And offer for your purification what Moses prescribed.
It will be a proof to them (Mark 1:44).
Orders of confidentiality will be ignored. This news is too good to resist. San Marco point? To borrow a phrase from an old Quaker hymn, how could we not sing if the Lord could perform miracles for us too?
I need to sing about the Mercy of the Lord, about what is happening in the Sacrament of Penance. Both in giving and receiving the sacrament, it is always mercy. If you are someone who may have forgotten that wonder from your life, let’s start over. Let’s go back to the beginning.
In preparation for their First Holy Communion, nine second grade students recently celebrated their first Confession. Leave the “confession sticker” as is. As with adult confession, we quickly forget what we hear unless we commit to praying for someone. All you need to know about second graders’ confessions is that they have poor memory. The sin he is presented with is only one, sometimes only two, and generally what has just happened.
The priest is supposed to greet the penitents and help them feel at ease. It’s more difficult to do if the confession is anonymous, but that’s okay. If being behind a screen helps, stay behind the screen. We encourage students to confess face-to-face, at least for the first time.
These first confessions took place during Catholic Schools Week, and today students dress in the clothes of the era they have decided to represent, from the 50s to the 80s. I often start by complimenting their bell bottoms or poodle skirts.
Then I say, “Let us begin with the sign of the cross.” In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. ” They joined me in the gesture, and I added, “Now say your blessings.” This is supposed to be the beginning of every confession, so I want them to hear it and know about the mercies that are sung.
The Lord, who illuminates all hearts,
Helps you know your sins
and to trust in His mercy. Amen.
Telling the priest how much time has passed since the last confession is only an aid to diagnosis. It’s not the accuracy that matters. Saying “two years” or “twenty years” sounds completely different than saying “two weeks.” In this case I would start like this: “I know this is your first confession. So what do you want to confess?”
“Are you talking about my sins?”
“Yes, it’s your fault. What did you do wrong?”
This progresses quickly in second grade, but boys tend to be a little slower than girls.
So I say: Because God loves you and wants to forgive your sins. And that’s what he’s doing now. God forgives all your sins, even those you cannot remember. Because no one remembers all their sins. ”
For some reason, many adults believe that unconfessed sins are unforgivable, just like groceries, which are considered stolen if not scanned. We should not withhold sins that weigh heavily on our conscience, but no one remembers all their sins. We are not looking into all your sins.
Remember that confession is a sacrament. This means that we as a church are celebrating and encountering what Jesus has already accomplished through his death and resurrection. When Christ died on the cross, your sins were forgiven by Him. All the sacraments are ways for us to enter into the salvation that Christ has already accomplished and that Christ has given us. Pope St. Leo the Great said:Quod itaque Redemptoris nostri conspicuum fuit in sacramenta transivit(The revelation of our Savior was carried over into the sacraments.)
God is certainty itself, but human life is always uncertain. In each sacrament, Christ enters our lives and claims them as His own. In them, the partiality of human life meets the completeness of God. You are a child of God. Sealed by the Holy Spirit. This is my body. your sins will be forgiven, etc. That is why the sacraments are given to us as gifts. If you consider them a burden, something is wrong.
It’s important to pay attention to what I’m doing do not have Say this to your children or others in confession. It is not the confessor’s job to make you repent of your sins. If you don’t already feel repentant, you won’t be there. The confessor should not preach to you. Confessors don’t coach or claim you can do better. Generally, unless you ask questions or ask for advice, God will silently ignore what you say and speak instead of His mercy.
Also, the confessor should not ask you sexual questions or detailed questions that have nothing to do with understanding you.
One parishioner said to me: “Last month, I went to confession in another town. The confessor didn’t say anything to me.”
“Jesus said your sins are forgiven. That seems more than enough.”
Then I say to the kids: Do you know “Our Father” and “Virgin Mary”? good. When you go to the pews, kneel and say a prayer, then ask God to bless your family. ” Catholic school students know both, but children attending religious education classes may not. I work my way down until I find something they know, even if it’s nothing more than “get down on your knees and ask God to bless your parents.”
Atonement does not have to “fit the crime.” Christ did that on the cross. We should all live a life of repentance, but at confession, repentance should be simple so that the penitent, who may be suffering from remorse, knows that it is over. It should be. A priest should never give endless penances such as “smile at everyone you meet today” or “think about God’s mercy all day long.” There are enough neuroses in life without the confessor adding more neuroses.
Then I invite the children to pray an act of repentance. “It’s a prayer that tells God you’re sorry.” This is my favorite part, hearing the variations the kids come up with. I wonder how I ever learned anything. Here is one variation of the well-known prayer:
oh my god,
Although I hardly regret offending you,
and for your just punishment I confess all my sins
But most of all because they protect you, my God.
All of you are good and worthy of my love.
With the help of your grace I will turn tightly
To commit further sins and avoid the nearest station of sin. Amen.
Then I hold out my hand and say, “Now say the prayer of forgiveness. Listen carefully.” We should all listen carefully. The entire theology of the sacraments is summarized in a few words.
God, Father of mercy,
Through the death and resurrection of the Son,
reconciled the world to itself
He poured out the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins.
through church service activities
May he grant you forgiveness and peace,
and i forgive your sins
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Next, add the applause that should follow. Because this perfectly sums up what just happened.
“Let us be thankful that the Lord is good.”
“His mercy endures forever.”
“Go with peace of mind.” Together with the children, say, “You did your best!”
Leprosy in the ancient world was more than just a disease. It didn’t heal. It could only be contained. Those infected with this disease were expelled from communal life and excluded from Israel’s worship. I couldn’t even touch, let alone approach, anyone who wasn’t infected.
Mark’s lepers don’t follow the rules. He violates the prohibition of approaching a clean person before disobeying orders of secrecy. Mark’s Jesus overrides this rule as well. He reached out his hand and touched the leper. why? As St. John Chrysostom said,
He is not under the law. The law is in his hands. Therefore, for those who are pure in heart, nothing is impure from now on.
The second-year student has not yet felt the weight of his guilt. They have not yet learned to run away in shame. That is why it is so important that they learn now that complete and unquestionable mercy will be given to them if they ask for it. I mentioned earlier that the sacrament is a little gratuitous for them, which means they lack a good enough cause. Then, even under the reign of shame, which is the great deception of the wicked, it remains free, meaning that the grace given is free to those who ask.