A Time For Conversion And Repentance

According to Blessed John Paul II, Lent is “a time for conversion and repentance.” It is a time of detachment, turning away from our earthly sin and turning towards Christ, who alone can save us.

This turning towards or this conversion can be solidified in the Sacrament of Confession. During Lent, the Church is reminded “of the indispensable necessity of sacramental confession, in order that we may all be able to live the resurrection of Christ not only in the liturgy, but also in our own soul.”

According to Blessed John Paul II, “the sacrament of penance is the primary way of obtaining forgiveness and the remission of serious sin committed after baptism.” In anticipation of the Resurrection, then, let us look towards the mercy of God and embrace the power to “forgive sins” that is conferred by Christ upon our priests through the Holy Spirit. Let us unload our burdens before the God who wants to heal us, let us repent for turning away from Him, and let us allow Him to convert our hearts.

For more on the Sacrament of Confession, see Blessed John Paul II’s beautiful reflection in his Apostolic Exhortation, Reconciliation and Penance. In this document, he ends with a prayer to the Blessed Mother that we now join him in saying:

Into the hands of this mother, whose fiat marked the beginning of that "fullness of time" in which Christ accomplished the reconciliation of humanity with God, to her immaculate heart—to which we have repeatedly entrusted the whole of humanity, disturbed by sin and tormented by so many tensions and conflicts—I now in a special way entrust this intention: that through her intercession humanity may discover and travel the path of penance, the only path that can lead it to full reconciliation.