“All have
sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” Rom.
3:23
I, an ordained deacon in the Roman Catholic Church, am a sinner. I write this not as a boast, but out of humility for regrettable personal decisions I have made in denying God’s love. In essence, I have at times placed myself first and God second because of my need or want for instant gratification.
It is interesting to me that those who say they believe in answered prayer, also complain how difficult it is to pray at times. They seem to be caught up in making sure their phrasing is so correct that whatever they are praying for or about will convince God that not only is it important but that He will not be confused by what is being said. Below is a Scripture passage from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians from the New Testament of the New American Bible which I believe answers their trepidation.
For those of us who frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation, it is how we begin to ask God for forgiveness for those times we have offended Him in sin through our thoughts, words and/or deeds or by omission. It is our hope through our sincerity in going to Confession that God, through the priest, will give us absolution if we are truly repentant.
‘Trust me, I’ve got your back.’ How many times have you heard someone in good faith tell you that? A dozen, two dozen, more? How many times have you agreed to do just that? And, how many times did the promise of protecting you work? How many times did it not work?
