Third Sunday of Lent
Two weekends ago, I accompanied my middle-school catechism students on a tour of the parish confessional.
It was awesome.
Father first gave the students a short catechesis on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Then, he gave a tour of both the penitent’s side and the priest’s side of the confessional and even let the students flip the switch for the entry lights indicating when to enter on and off. And on and off. And on and off. Finally, our tour ended with a Q&A in which my curious cohort asked, “But what if…” questions galore–attempting to stump him. To each elaborate “Have you ever…” question Father simply said, “I don’t talk about the content of confessions.”
This holy forgetfulness is like the heart of Jesus displayed in today’s Gospel.
The people come to Jesus to tell him about the Galileans who were killed by Pilate, suspecting that the Galileans must have committed a great sin to meet such a fate.
Jesus reprimands the people, repeating twice, “But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” His priority was not the specificity of sins nor the comparison of guilt, but instead the act of repentance. To repent is to turn around.
Jesus asks us to turn away from both our sin and the sins of others and to turn to Himself, who alone can revive our withering souls. To each of our own “but-what-if’s,” Jesus's invitation is simple, yet profoundly challenging: repent.
In this season of Lent, may we accept Jesus’s call to repentance and allow Him to fertilize the soil of our hearts through the Sacraments. May we enter our local confessionals with the confidence that Jesus does not keep a long list of all our faults, but more than anything desires to save us from death and bring us to new life with Him.
In the midst of our Lenten practices, show us your heart, Lord.
In the lies we believe about ourselves and others, show us your heart, Lord.
In the gift of the Sacraments, show us your heart, Lord.
Zoe Dongas is an actor and musician based in New York City. She is the Assistant Director of Arthouse2B and the Secretary of the Board of the Catholic Artist Connection.