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THE AUSTRALASIAN CATHOLIC RECORD .
Count Our family outing was beginning to fall apart. The hot summer sun had caused the temperature in the car to rise to an uncomfortable level, the traffic was becoming snarled and, to make matters worse, our two older daughter, wen, arguing in the back at. "Look," I warned them
for the third time, "I want you to op this bi kerlng. Your arguing is rcall) gcthng on my nerv ancl wo're going to have an accident in aU th, lr-Jffic • Pausing onlv lightly to take note of my r ng an r th girls "en! al 11 again Thal d,d ii Tb I t
Sy Nell Parent
took. our youngest daughter into the house. J once IR,lin repnmanded th m for their poor behavior, but !also apologised for ma king them. I explained that I did not permil llu,ir hotting other people, vet I had done that very thing to them. I ed their forgh My olde t daughter helped my anguish by quickly re ponding. 'That' 0 • Dad. no one' perfect• Th youn r one
added,
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dldn t hurt," After hugging we went Inside Arriving hom fn1m rl a few "' biter, I dtscovered thal my mid daught r had n nt t
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lo h r moth r I went ond r und h r
Th young r one e w d ned, but lu, d1dn I let
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People returning to the ucr,ment of reconciliation after , long time hue "• lot of tension and stress about out '; nde bad. them," uys Father William Hoffman, pastor of St Jude's Parish in At/ant,. "But it doesn't take them long to ,.\\h 0 an•rri;;thome, I realise this is • ucrament of healing and forfireness." Father Hoffman uses the image of God as the dirine ., led 1h two gnb 10 tay physician and encourages penitents to be specific about what troubles them so God un heal them. In th air while my �
:!
Finall) I erred to the incident thnt occurred on the ram,ly outing and po • nr bow dim ult u
was for me lo apolog� In that ltuahon. Th seemed
Confession sacrament of reconciliation
One of every three people who comes to Jesuit Father John Haughey for confession- the Hcrament of reconciliation has been away a long time. Many come • sacrament of heal· right out and say, Ing and forglveneu-'' "I'm nervous. I During • face-tohaven't been In face confession - SO awhile. You'll have to per cent of the conhelp me," said the fesslons In each parpastor of St Peter's I h- Father Hoffman Parish. often traces the Sign Father Haughey'• of the Cross on the response I "to cele- returning penitent'• brate Immediately forehead with the and express my Joy words, "May God for· they have come.'' give you and bring Often this turns Into• you peace." prayer. "Let's rejoice To help the penitent that grace and faith set started, both pri•nd need and hope ests take their clues have brought you from what the person here." has said. People returning to "I usually try to let this Hcrament after people know I under· • long time have "a stand where they're lot of tension and coming from, that I'm stress about them," not trying to make it Hid Father William any more difficult Hoffman, pH tor of St that It Is," Hid Father Jude's Parish. "But It Hoffman. Often he doesn't take long for asks, "How long has th m to re• se this I it been? From I• t 8 The Record, October 16, 1987
by KA THAii/NE
BIRD
time you came to con· fesalon, what are the things you remember?" People always have two or three things "weighing on their mind," he observed. "Then I may go over the commandments and It awakens other things. They're always grateful for that." Father Haughey tries to create • context of prayer for the Hcrament. Often he tells people, "The heal ng power of God wants to come to you through me. Forget about me and t t
Lord the things you're sorry for, the things offensive to hlm,"
Sometimes he finds that people "need categories" to help them_ So he t.lks with them about matters such•• charity fidelity or or chHtlng. To describe confession, Father Hoffman sometimes uses the Image of God as the divine phsyslclan. In consulting • medical physician, • person can't talk In generalities, the pri st Hid. "You have to be specific - I hurt, right here on my th gh. I want it healed." "I encourage people to approach the Hcra ment" the same way, to be sp clflc
about what troubles them so God can heal them, Father Hoffman said. Asked what motl· vates people to return to the sacrament of reconciliation, Father Haughey responded, "• dream busts" - a relationship breaks up, • person Is diagnosed with cancer, people feel hunger for more than they have. People get "hit over the hHd with • twoby-four," Father Hoffman Hid. "They look at th Ir I ves and see des ructlve behaviour or find themselves lonely or lacking peace." Toward th nd of the confeulon, Fath r Hoffman es
to make• connection between forgiving others and b Ing for· given ourselves. In h experience, people who have been away from confession for some time u ually are harbouring resentments towards others, toward a former pouse, an alcoholic parent, • church representative. Tailoring his queries to the particular situation, Father Hoffman gently Hks people about possible Ill feellngL He asks them whether they could forgive these people. In his experi nee, this forgiven ss helps people to understand th forgiveness they seek th mselveL
to make an 1mpressiontl ictively seek reconcihation h r Arter h�tening foa ID our Jives It a.i though few more minutes, le the grace of God that heals lipped oil the bed .i iuman alienation com"' ot doYtn.-.ta1n.Shortif pounds wtth each Iorgrving
could h I
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voice: \tum, 1 When the sacrament
of reconciliation is celoThere , pow,r io 1abroted todoy, 11 often mut I e.p......., ol i begins "ilh a commuglvene and reainca1na1 ervice In which lion. The mon, we ,anl.1 people pray and preor are pordoned, i.1111pare together In th, ,. com to v1lae "' way people b nefit sorry·
together from the celebration of God's compossionote rnercj-,
On suc.h occestons. people pray for God's gracious fnrgnren and for his help to hve more peaceful ln,s, Th y also pray for one another, that th )' can live up to tho i<lcab to whi, h
the ucnment calls them.
The crament of reconciliation ha a " y or pcmtIng back to the act or
forgiveness already occurring in the life of the believing community. In a sense, the sac.rament lS a beautiful teshmonial to the belief that&> disciples or] es us, we are both forgiven and ailed to be Iorgiv rs. God Iorgiv us, eo are we to forgive others. God reconciled the world to him 1f m Jes • so are we to be reccncilere - at home, at work m the
neighbourhood, between groups, races, nations. This ministry of reconciliation is one that we Chnstians need to take seriously, especially today when divisions among people have such profound consequences for the human family. Indeed, it is perhaps our most important ministry. \\'e approach the sacrament b a means ol experiencing God's forgn·en
of sin, but al.so as a source of strength in dealing with issues of concern for living a better Christian life. We may find that we are experiencing some sense of brokenn - strung out in our releticnebips with family members and friends or sufTenng from a strained relationship with God But the healing and upporth-e powers of thts sacrament are there for us.
"I wish to heal, not accuse," St Augustine said, referring to the exercise of the pastoral activity regarding penance, and It Is thanks to the medicine of confession that the experience of sin does not degenerate Into despair." (Pope John Paul II In his 1984 apostolic exhortation on reconciliation and penance.) Good health Is of
Where does penance fit in?
Her first retreat by Father Lawrence Miele
She was 17 and on her first retreat. life at home was pretty sad. she saKI She and her sister were always fighting and she had been yelhng at her mother a lot. Her rela tionship With her boyfriend also tTOtJbled her because they were both
hav,ng a hard time not ••gomg an the way:•
Her maoo we"' droppng beca- she hadn't _, studying and her fnends had talked her Into drDung to exceaa .....,n,1 ""- lately ''My kfe ,s a mMS nght n<N>I," she sa,d, "and I want to change things oomehow"
Ho was 111 his 30o and had come to the Lenten penance ,ervoce He had tned to Ir.le • good if • he said, and thought he was domg a good job But -,dy. he had begun to worrr about a practice common at hes worl< It was customary for workers to 1llke home tools aod other item$ without pe...,_,.,_ He had _, doong rt for _ ... he ...i. but lately he had begun to realioe tha1 rt was "'8ly �. ao he had decided to b- the habrt
She was ,n her 60s.
o-,tty widowed. and had
come on • Saturday after· noon l.Jke most a.rvivlng -- she had lots of
memories end lots of regrets She prayed for forgiveness for the r1tt1e ways she felt she had her spouN durv,g their life
together But mootly. she """. she knew she had to put a bog part of her life behind her now end leem how to aerve God ., a new way. What that new way would �
like was not at all clear yet. but she knew God was aslung new thongs of her.
These three people found II place for the sacraments of penance in their lives As dtffer-
ODO
Not uncommonly these people see exercise as a medicine or healln1 agent with far-reaching effects. Perhaps they hope it will help control the stress In their lives. By reducing stress, their exercise re�imens would ultimately help them achieve healthier attitudes, a healthier abllity to relate to others, a healthier approach to worilActually, the lofty goals of some exercise buffs Include nothing short of a sense of well-being and • new lease on life. In any event, you can see that "healin&," "medicine" and "health" are Ideas that Interest people grHtly today and in which they find profound meaning. When Pope John Paul II discussed the sacrament of reconciliation In a 1984 message to the church, he observed that people today seem to have a special sensitivity to the healing aspect of the Hcrament.
ent as their various situ.
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The pope first pointed out that according to an "ancient traditional Idea, the sacrament Is a kind of Judicial action." As such, It takes place before • tribunal - but • tril>u nal of mercy, he str ssed. Over and above the Hcrament's Judicial character, however, It needs to be recog· nlsed that the sacr• ment promotes "• heal ng of• medlclnal character," the pope Hid.
tians were. they 111/ found that this sacrament could help them to grow spiritually The"' ana oeveral thongs that - three people had in COi I tmOi I that C8n help Othe/$ undemand the role of penance ., the - of ChnstJans The three al the .-1 for a change in
Th .. � h«pfer IIH NN saf 11 kr .-forultia8 Ndr ft hr ......,., lleit l'arNt mos. ., '"'"' ..uirs -'f-k, /yi...... N flle fN4. ,.,.,.,.,,. ....... hr, I tint ...,_ •Hiii l.k iotci4ffl -' t. uuost..i !Mt SN a,e/eFH ft hr ...,..,., ' _,.' SN SNf111H. •
more than casual Interest to people today. Take the expanding number of joggers, walkers and aerobic exercisers for example. They testify that good health Is not Just something to read and talk about, but something to pursue actively. "Exercise Is the best medicine," might be their motto.
recog.-
They .. felt that God WM esking SOii ,ad• tg new of tt.n. Al tecog<-1
that they we,e _.aomehow for pest behaviour for whtch they deaNld forgiveness
They
ell
-todo-1111ht futun, at folowing the col of the l..onl
The Record, October 16, 1987
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omen not recoqni ed from Suzanne SMITH, Augusta
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The biggest gathering of Catholic young people since the 1985 Youth Conference ook place last wee end. About 160 young people and several adults spent 30 hours together in the Mazenod gym for the fourth annual Antioch Flame wee end. The discussion, simulation games and prayers centred on five talks based on the mnemonic F-L-A- -E. T e letters stood for Friendship, Life giving, Actio , y Lord and God and Eucharist and were boldly displayed on a 8x2m banner.
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