Repentance

Repentance

Eileen Renders        November 7, 2023

   The very word repentance means that one has sincere sorrow or regret for their words or actions. Penance is an experience of God’s endless mercy and love. Yet how do we as Catholics express our sincere regret for having offended God by our actions? In short, stop offending God!

   Yet I would like to present you with the thought of what is true repentance. Could there be an ideal way of showing our regret for having offended God? The answer to that question deserves a resounding Yes! There have been many times that most of us went into the Confessional, stated our sins to the priest, and affirmed our sorrow after receiving absolution with the making of the Act of Contrition. And I wonder how many times, many of us whispered to ourselves; “I’ll try to do better”.

   Unquestionably, this is just not sincere enough. Imagine a very different scenario, such as instead saying to God; “God I will stop repeating these since with the help of Your grace I truly want to become a better person. I realize how deeply I have hurt you and I need the Holy Ghost to live in me so that I might help others.”

   If this attitude sounds more sincere, I can only agree. God deserves our commitment, our love, and our loyalty. In being sincere as we begin our change to become a better person, we cannot accomplish this without God’s guidance, and grace. And to receive, we must ask! We approach God in prayer, by frequenting the sacraments, consciously becoming aware of when we are about to agree to sin again, and consciously refraining from doing so. Each effort we make brings God’s graces upon us to assist us in our journey to holiness.

   Determination together with God’s grace is a key element for succeeding in any achievement that we endeavor,