2nd Week of Advent - Repent

The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Advent this year contains a clear call to repentance. It’s worth thinking about what that means and how to go about it. The goal of repentance, as with our whole life of faith, is deeper union with God. We grow closer to God in this life and grow into union with God forever. I find it helpful to think about repentance as acknowledging and working to overcome those things that get in the way of our experiencing God’s love and the joy and freedom God’s love brings.

We have a great inherited tradition that helps us to identify those things that get in the way - Commandments, Beatitudes, Social and Moral Teaching. Our rich moral tradition can give us plenty of material with which to examine our consciences.

St. Ignatius offers a complementary approach to examining our lives prayerfully and opening ourselves to God’s life and love. It builds on last week’s prayer of noticing God’s presence.

The initial steps are the same.

• Set aside some time for quiet and try to remove obvious distractions such as your phone.
• Ask for God’s help to notice the way that he’s been present throughout the day.
• Reflect over the day in gratitude and savor the gifts.

• As we notice God’s gifts, we inevitably bump up against ways that we haven’t responded appropriately to God’s goodness.
• We can then ask for God’s forgiveness and help to change.

For example, in prayer we might notice the kindness of a loved one that we took for granted and didn’t acknowledge. We can resolve to thank the person and ask for God’s help to be more attentive and responsive going forward. Or we might notice how our self-preoccupation got in the way of sharing a gift we received. The possibilities are endless.

This approach to examining our lives starts and ends with God’s goodness. We notice God’s gifts, become aware of our lack of response, and turn back to God for healing and help. This helps to avoid the temptation to self-absorption that can come from starting with our faults and trying to get rid of them by ourselves. Here we allow God’s light to shine in and bring about transformation.

The Sacrament of Penance offers special grace for overcoming those things that get in the way of our relationship with God and other people. We acknowledge those obstacles and receive God’s mercy and healing. We go forth from the sacrament better equipped to respond to God’s goodness in the future.

As we continue our Advent journey, give yourself some time to notice those things that get in the way of embracing God’s love. I’d encourage you to take advantage of opportunities to bring those obstacles to God for healing and help to encounter more fully the joy and freedom God brings.

Advent blessings!

Fr. Ben