UKUHLAWULWA KWELENTEN
Usuku 9
THE Indlela yokuqala enokuthi iNkosi iqale ngayo ukuguqula umphefumlo ivulwe xa loo mntu, ezibona ekukhanyeni kwenyaniso, evuma ubuhlwempu bakhe kunye nesidingo sakhe ngomoya wentobeko. Olu lubabalo kunye nesipho esiqaliswe yiNkosi uqobo ethanda umoni kakhulu, ade amfune, ngakumbi xa bevalelwe ebumnyameni besono. Njengokuba uMateyu olihlwempu wabhala…
Umoni ucinga ukuba isono siyamthintela ekufuneni uThixo, kodwa kungenxa nje le nto uKristu wehla ukuze acele umntu! -UMthendeleko wothando, iphe. 95
Jesus comes to the sinner, knocking on his or her heart, with a hand that was pierced for their sins.
Yabona, ndimi emnyango ndinkqonkqoza; ukuba uthe umntu waliva izwi lam, waluvula ucango, ndongena kuye, ndidle naye, naye adle nam. (ISityhi. 3:20)
Hearing this knock, Zacchaeus came down from his tree, and immediately, repented of his sins. It was then, in the confession of his sins in sincere contrition, that Jesus said to him:
Today salvation has come to this house… For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:9-10)
The second path, then, by which the Lord is able to enter a soul and continue the work of grace is inguquko, true sorrow for one’s sins:
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matt 3:4)
That is, they shall be comforted when, in true sorrow, they confess their sins before the Great Tribunal of Mercy, the Holy Trinity, in the presence of Their representative, a priest. Jesus instructed St. Faustina:
Xelela imiphefumlo apho ifuna ukuthuthuzela khona; Oko kukuthi, kwiNkundla yeNceba [iSigramente soXolelwaniso]. There the greatest miracles take place [and] are incessantly repeated. To avail oneself of this miracle, it is not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage or to carry out some external ceremony; it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My representative and to reveal to him one’s misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were a soul like a decaying corpse so that from a human standpoint, there would be no [hope of] restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full. Oh, how miserable are those who do not take advantage of the miracle of God’s mercy! You will call out in vain, but it will be too late. -Inceba kaThixo kumphefumlo wam, Iidayari, n. 1448
So today, brothers and sisters, hear the invitation—the Melele call—to return with fervor and frequency to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Somewhere along the line, the idea took hold among many faithful that it is only necessary to go to Confession once a year. But as John Paul II said, this falls short of what is necessary to grow in holiness. In fact, he recommended ngeveki Ukuvuma izono.
…those who go to Confession frequently, and do so with the desire to make progress” will notice the strides that they make in their spiritual lives. “It would be an illusion to seek after holiness, according to the vocation one has received from God, without partaking frequently of this sacrament of conversion and reconciliation.” —UPOPE JOHN PAUL II, kwinkomfa yabapostile ejele, ngoMatshi 27, 2004; mkhusini.org
There, he said, the penitent “lays bare his conscience because of the deep need to be pardoned and reborn.” [1]Ibid. As St. Ambrose once said, “there are water and tears: the water of Baptism and the tears of repentance." [2]CCC, n. I-1429 Both lead us to being born again, and again, which is why the Church also calls this the “Sacrament of conversion.” [3]Katekisiki yeCawa yamaKatolika, n. I-1423
Now, Jesus knows that we not only need to be forgiven, but need to ukuzwa that we are forgiven. I suppose you can confess your sins to your cab driver, hair dresser, or pillow. But none of them has the power or authority to forgive your sins. For it was only to the Twelve Apostles—and thus their legitimate successors—to whom Jesus said:
Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained. (John 20:22-23)
And so, St. Pio once said:
Confession, which is the purification of the soul, should be made no later than every eight days; I cannot bear to keep souls away from Confession for more than eight days. — Archives, evangelizzare.org
Brothers and sisters, this Lent, begin the practice of making frequent Confession a part of your life (at the very least, once a month). I go to Confession weekly, and it has been one of the greatest graces in my life. Because, as the Catechism teaches:
…the new life received in Christian initiation has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition calls inkanuko, which remains in the baptized such that, with the help of the grace of Christ, they may prove themselves in the struggle of Christian life. This is the struggle of ukuguqulwa directed toward holiness and eternal life to which the Lord never ceases to call us. -Katekisiki yeCawa yamaKatolika, n. I-1423
So, don’t be afraid, brothers and sisters, to pour out your hearts before God in Confession. Banoyolo abakhedamileyo; ngokuba baya konwatyiswa bona.
ISISHWANKATHELO NESIBHALO
Confession opens a pathway for grace to heal and restore the heart; rhoqo Confession opens the gates to holiness.
Blessed is the one whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven… with joyful shouts of deliverance you surround me. (Psalm 32:1, 7)
Thanks for your support of this full time apostolate.
Ukujoyina uMarko kule Lenten Retreat,
cofa kwibhena engezantsi ukuya rhuma.
I-imeyile yakho ayizokwabelwana naye nabani na.
PHAWULA: Ababhalisi abaninzi baxele ukuba abasafumani ii-imeyile kwakhona. Jonga ifolda yakho ye-junk okanye yogaxekile ukuze uqiniseke ukuba ii-imeyile zam azimiseli apho! Oko kuhlala kunjalo 99% yexesha. Zama ukuphinda ubhalise Apha. Ukuba akukho nanye kwezi ezincedayo, nxibelelana nomboneleli wakho wesevisi ye-intanethi kwaye ubacele ukuba bavumele ii-imeyile kum.
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