Don’t put that in your mouth! Don’t eat that off the floor! Wash your hands! Those statements are too familiar for anyone with kids. As I write this, I am riding on a light rail train that has the scent of urine in the air. After a long day, it will be nice to take a warm shower and feel clean again.
We all start our lives with a mostly clean slate and the new baby smell to go along with it. However, as we go through life, we pick up spiritual dirt and grime from the things we come in contact with in the world. The world can be a very dirty place and sometimes we gravitate towards it like a pig rolling in the mud.
When we get dirty we need to clean ourselves. Just ignoring the stink will not make it go away. When we take a shower we clean our whole body, but we pay more attention to those areas that are extra dirty. Jesus gives us the sacrament of reconciliation to wash our souls. It’s like a nice warm spiritual shower that washes away all of our sins. We bring attention to our most dirty areas by telling the priest our sins. The priest extends his hand and grace from God flows out cleansing our entire soul.
Why don’t we just ask Jesus to forgive us in person outside the sacrament of reconciliation? We can be forgiven outside of reconciliation, but it is like using a soapy rag or wet wipe to get clean instead of taking a shower. It may even be like using a dirty rag to get clean depending on how contrite we are.
There is a process to become spiritually clean. First, we have to recognize that we are dirty. Second, we have to have the desire to become clean. Finally, we need to actually go before God in the sacrament of reconciliation and allow his grace to shower down on us.
There was a time when I was going to the sacrament of reconciliation a couple of times a month, but recently I haven’t gone as often as I should. It is also harder to attend during the pandemic. We should try to set a goal of going at least twice a year. The more we do something, the easier it becomes. There is no better feeling than stepping out of church with a clean soul. When our souls are clean, our light is able to shine much more brightly to others.
