There are many battles in this life that we have to fight. We face a barrage of different temptations everyday and it can be hard to be spiritually strong all the time. In our weakness, sin slips into our lives and we can be spiritually injured or killed. However, Jesus conquered death and we can be spiritually renewed and revived if we seek it and ask for it.
Without Jesus’s sacrifice, we would all be spiritually dead, but now we all have a chance to experience the joys of Heaven. Jesus not only opened the gates of Heaven, but He gave us the sacrament of reconciliation that renews and refreshes our souls as we journey towards it. Just as we can treat small wounds and illnesses ourselves, when we commit small venial sins, we can be forgiven just by being truly sorry and asking God directly for forgiveness. However, sometimes we injure ourselves greatly or get very sick and that requires professional intervention. When we commit a mortal sin, we need to go to a priest and participate in the sacrament of reconciliation. This is the only guaranteed way to heal our soul. If I were very sick and refused to go to the doctor, I would risk my health and my life. The same goes for committing mortal sins and refusing to go to the sacrament of reconciliation.
Unlike, going to the hospital, the sacrament of reconciliation is free and it heals us 100% of the time. We shouldn’t be embarrassed by our sins because the priest has heard it all before, just as a doctor has probably seen just about every medical condition. While it’s perfectly fine to go to a priest that doesn’t know us, it’s good to go to one that does because the priest will be able to easier help us. Just as a doctor can better help us if he knows our medical history, so will a priest be able to help us if he knows more about us.
When we don’t seek treatment for an illness, it can grow to be a bigger one. It’s also easier to get our soul dirtier if it’s already dirty. However, we tend to try to keep a clean soul clean. We need to ask ourselves if we want to keep ignoring our spiritual injuries, illnesses, and filth or take action. It’s easy to ignore problems and hope they will go away, but most of the time they don’t. If we want to be healthy, successful, and happy for all eternity the first thing we need to do is rise.
