LET US GO REJOICING | Dominus Est Advent Reflections
Second Sunday of Advent Reflections by Fr. Phillippe Angelo Garcia
When was the last time you said sorry?
In his last lecture, Prof. Randy Pausch explains that a good apology has three parts:
“I'm sorry! It was my fault. How do I make it right?”
Many of us would focus on the first two parts yet we don't recognize how we make things right after committing a wrongdoing.
In our Gospel today, St. John the Baptist tells us to produce good fruit as evidence of our repentance. God loves us very much. God is mercy, He is mercy. He will surely forgive us. But the question is: “how do we make things right?”
Because God loves us very much, He will never punish us. Sadly, we are the ones who are punishing ourselves whenever we choose to sin.
As your priest-servant, I have observed many penitents who would approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation with deep sorrow to the point that they are teary-eyed and some are even crying because of the sins they have committed.
This simply tells us that when we sin, we are hurting not just our neighbor, we are also breaking our own hearts.
The will of the devil is for us not to love. For when we sin, we are not loving.
It is good for us to reflect: “When was the last time we confessed our sins through the sacrament of reconciliation?”
Others would reason that they are not worthy to confess and they are too shy to do so. But it is the other way around, we are confessing because we are unworthy to be enslaved by our sins. We are confessing for we are ashamed before God for living a sinful life.
But repentance does not end with confession. True repentance should be seen when we make our lives closer to God and let go of our sins.
Have we identified what is the root of our sins? When we are able, let us begin processing our sins as we analyze how the Devil tempts us. In order for us to let go of our sins, we should be able to defeat the movements of the devil.
This Advent, don't be afraid! Go to confession as we prepare for the Christmas season. God will surely give us the grace in the most holy sacrament of reconciliation.
In our catechism, the church teaches that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. For us to gain true joy from the holy spirit, We must deny our sins, make our lives right so we may embrace God wholeheartedly.
True joy can never be found in our sins, not even in our favorite sins. We can only find true joy with God.
This is Father Phillippe, praying with you this advent season leaving you with our food for the journey:
“Let us go rejoicing as we let go of our sins and embrace God wholeheartedly.”