We come face to face with John the Baptist. A voice that cries in the wilderness asking that we be “prepared” for the Lord’s coming—either in His person or through our death. In the first reading, the atmosphere exudes a buoyancy as God welcomes the returning Israelites by filling up the valleys and laying low the mountains. However, while a homecoming radiates euphoria, still restoration must be accompanied by sincere contrition.
Structured into our desire for reconciliation and restoration is the commitment to repentance and reparation. Thus, in the area of restoration and reparation, it might be helpful to explore how compartmentalised our “sacramental senses” have become. For the sake of convenience, we have had to arrange reconciliation according to the availability of the ordinary ministers of the sacraments. The way the Sacrament of Confession has been organised may have socialised us into a sort of proceeding which has separated Contrition from Communion.
Such a segregation is possibly clarified by this question: “Does one have to receive Holy Communion when one attends Mass?”. Many will answer “yes”. The reasoning is pretty simple. The Mass is likened to a banquet and to attend one without eating does not make sense.
While it is an ideal to attend Mass regularly, however, there is no “obligation” to receive Holy Communion. Why? Both Canons #1247 and #1248 §1 answer the question. “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass” and “A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass”. There is no mention that an attendance at Mass obliges a person to receive Holy Communion. In fact, one’s access to Holy Communion is premised on having the “proper disposition” which means that there must not be a lack of faith, sanctifying grace, and right intention.
Without “proper disposition” in place, the answer to the question of Mass attendance followed by an automatic reception of Holy Communion would be affirmative. This is contrary to the accepted tradition that the remedy to improper disposition is to avail oneself of the Sacrament of Penance. For the faithful, the proper disposition to receive Holy Communion requires one who is conscious of grave sin not to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord “without prior sacramental confession”. (Can #916). In fact, one does not even need grave sin. Just simply not adhering to the Eucharistic fast, that is, refraining from food and drinks apart from water an hour before reception of the Sacrament, can keep a Catholic from receiving Holy Communion. This sounds “legalistic” but it comes from the “proper disposition” of having the right intention.[1]
More significantly, in terms of spiritual preparation, what has happened is that the lack of availability for one to confess can have an effect of removing this “need” for the “proper disposition” required for the reception of Holy Communion. The penitential services, accepted as necessary from the perspective of logistics,[2] may have contributed to a forgetfulness of the prerequisite of sacramental disposition. In some cases, putting off confession until the availability of the penitential services, a faithful may be receiving Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin. But not only that. It may also have even created a dichotomised logic which is keen to accept the Eucharist as the action of Christ Himself feeding us through His ministers, while at the same time, slow to appreciate that the same action of Christ is mediated through the absolution of the minister. If the Eucharist is efficacious in giving sanctifying grace, why not the Sacrament of Penance?[3]
Unfortunately, for not a few, the Sacrament of Penance is permeated with dread and fear. On the surface, it could be fear coming from natural shame. “What would Father think of me?”. Beyond fear, it could also reflect how “disincarnated” our sacraments have become. We believe at Mass, the Eucharist is the really, truly and substantially the Body of Christ but we are not that confident that the same absolution comes from Christ at confession. This mirrors our fragmented sense of the Sacraments.
In fact, a majority of the priests of the Diocese who met at a recent meeting expressed how “disincarnated” the Sacrament of the Eucharist has become. Some Catholics have come to accept that online Masses are good enough for their spiritual need. They are satisfied with “spiritual” Communion forgetting that this form of “reception” is directed to the fuller celebration of the Eucharist in person. We do not inhabit the world as avatars. Instead, we are a sacramental people and it is time to reclaim who we are.
To grow in appreciation of God’s forgiveness, Baruch’s returning Israelites are a powerful symbol of our penitential journey back to Him. It is an invitation to return to His love no matter how far we may have strayed. Our Advent preparation is defined by a relationship in which God is the Saviour we have been longing for. He wants to save us.
Thus, we should take this Advent to delve deeper into appreciating how central sanctifying and sacramental graces are in our penitential journey to salvation. The Sacrament of Confession forms the backdrop of our growing in excellence according to St Paul. Jesus the Lord is indeed coming to us. The flattening of the hills and the filling in of the valleys are indicative of our spiritual preparation. Do take note that the parishes of this vicariate will continue to roll out the penitential services. The faithful is free to go to any one of them and the schedule of the different parishes will be made available through our media channels.
However, in making Confession readily and regularly available and not just “restricted” to the penitential services, we want to return the Sacrament of Penance to its rightful place in the personal journey of conversion and commitment to Christ.[4] It is taking responsibility for our spiritual growth since “anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion”. (CCC#1385). Call the office or the priests. The telephone numbers are not difficult to obtain. I would encourage everyone to make personal arrangements in the days to come by giving yourself an opportunity to encounter the Lord’s forgiveness through the Sacrament of Penance.
The Sacrament of Confession brings us back to the figure of repentance, John the Baptist. He stands in stark contrast to the frenzied grip of commerce and the feverish gorging of consumption. We tend to spend and devour more than we should and Christmas seems to be a serious business on these two fronts. However, let the desire for a lively Christmas be matched equally with a strong interior renewal through repentance and the reform of our lives so that when the Reason for the season arrives, our hearts will be ready for Him.
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[1] The argument will usually come from “God does not really care for such nitty gritty details”. Really? Would one dare to use this logic when it comes to a delicate microsurgery that requires precision with regard to “nitty gritty” details? What if the surgeon were to pick his nose in the midst of an open-heart surgery?
[2] There is no doubt that a specific time frame and a specific parish allow for the congregation of many priests and this helps with providing the sacrament of penance to those as many as possible who avail themselves of it.
[3] It may not be a problem of logistics. Even when confession is readily available, still people do not avail of it. This dichotomy could be a symptomatic of our shallow sacramental theology.
[4] Penitential services are so much more convenient for the priests. “Get it over and done with”. The appointment system requires commitment of the minister to be present for a penitent. It is definitely more inconvenient. But what greater joy than to welcome a penitent faithful at the time when he or she needs it most.
