The life of the Christian is a homeward journey, a pilgrimage oriented toward salvation — but there are a lot of obstacles along the path: thorny entanglements with sin, muddied conceptions of the way forward, mounting exhaustion from the journey. Even the most well-intentioned believer can easily get “off course” in the pursuit of holiness, according to Father Arthur Unachukwu.
reconciliation
Priests must recognize that it is a privilege to administer the sacrament of reconciliation and grant absolution, Pope Francis wrote.
One of the privileged places of encountering Jesus is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Confession. In order to approach him in Confession, we have to turn and face the very things in our hearts that are most unworthy of him, that we would prefer to hide from him, and hide from ourselves, the sins and patterns of sinfulness that weigh on us, and burden our consciences, make it feel as if the Lord is far from us, disappointed in us, even given up on us.