Confession is usually a very private affair: just you and the priest (in persona Christi). I am very thankful for the secrecy of the sacrament, so I normally wouldn't share my experience in such a public way. But I really think the penance that I was asked to perform was beautiful.
A little background first...I am a control freak. My freakishness extends into many areas of my life and other people's lives, and this is often the cause of much anxiety, angst and relational strain. It's one of those pet sins that I seem to always be confessing.
In response to my most recent confession, the priest asked me to spend time looking at and reflecting on the stained glass window of Jesus hanging on the cross at the front of the church. He explained that the need to feel in control is often a response to insecurity. In our effort to give up control, there is no better example to follow than Christ on the cross. At that moment, Jesus was the most insecure he had ever been in his life by the world's standard; he was beaten, bloodied, nailed to a cross, and nearly abandoned. However, with his last words, he showed us how to trust God with what is most precious: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." May Christ be merciful and give us the grace to do the same, now and at the hour of our death.
A little background first...I am a control freak. My freakishness extends into many areas of my life and other people's lives, and this is often the cause of much anxiety, angst and relational strain. It's one of those pet sins that I seem to always be confessing.
In response to my most recent confession, the priest asked me to spend time looking at and reflecting on the stained glass window of Jesus hanging on the cross at the front of the church. He explained that the need to feel in control is often a response to insecurity. In our effort to give up control, there is no better example to follow than Christ on the cross. At that moment, Jesus was the most insecure he had ever been in his life by the world's standard; he was beaten, bloodied, nailed to a cross, and nearly abandoned. However, with his last words, he showed us how to trust God with what is most precious: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." May Christ be merciful and give us the grace to do the same, now and at the hour of our death.
1 comment:
Great post, thanks for sharing. That's one i could use some meditation on as well.
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