How we can receive more from the Mass - 4 (Penitential Act)

We Catholics are encouraged to make an examination of conscience at the end of each day. 

This may sound a gloomy thing to do, but it’s always in the light of knowing that the God revealed to us through his Word made Flesh is a God who knows us better than we know ourselves, and loves us completely and unconditionally.  Of course, he desperately wants us not to sin, but that is because sin damages our relationship with him and always leaves us unhappy, unfulfilled. 

So, our examination of conscience is a prayerful reflection on the events of the day in which we assess our thoughts, words and deeds, as well detecting God’s presence in our life and discerning his direction for us.

But it is always in a spirit of total trust in God’s infinite love and forgiveness – he will always love us and yearns for us to be reconciled with him.

If we get into the habit of this regular examination, we can better respond to the invitation at the start of the Penitential Act to “acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.”  In truth, we are rarely given much time to do this from scratch, which is why it is good to develop the daily habit of examining our conscience, as well as spending some time before Mass starts by doing so again – but this time, over the previous week.

Notice the invocations in the Penitential Act.  They never say, “We are wretched sinners and deserve to be punished by you.”  They always dwell on the tender, merciful qualities of Our Lord: “You were sent to heal the contrite of heart” “You came to reconcile us to the Father and to one another” etc.

Our God is a tender, compassionate and merciful God.

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