This past Christmas, my son and daughter-in-law gave me something called ‘Your Desktop Confessional.’ It looks just like one of those old-fashioned confessionals that you would find in an old, city church.
When you are ready, you pull back the curtains, press down on the kneeler, and the screen lights up in the back of the booth. The priest will say, “Tell me your sins.” When you’ve finished, you lift up your fingers from the kneeler and the priest will say, “You are forgiven,” and the light will dim.
Keep in mind that this confessional does not take the place of the real thing; after all, Reconciliation is an actual sacrament. But this is a great lead-in to Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent.
Lent is the period of preparation when we seek the Lord through prayer, by giving alms through service, and by practicing self-control through fasting. We are called to not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but also to a true inner conversion of heart as we try to follow God’s will more faithfully.
My little desktop confessional really got me thinking about the similarities between Ash Wednesday, Lent, and Confession. All three begin with a self-examination in order to experience a true conversion of heart. To do this, we must take these three vital steps: name it, claim it, and change it. Let me explain.
- Name It
We need to be able to name the behavior or action that steered us in the wrong direction. For instance, not helping someone in need, being angry or hateful instead of loving, being greedy, or even lying. When we name it, we start to have some level of awareness of what happened, and we begin to see how our action or lack of action has made us fall short of being more Christ-like to others.
- Claim It
This is the willingness to accept the sin or negative behavior and what was going on the inside that caused that behavior. This is not for the purpose of making excuses. It is to understand what caused the behavior so that we can deal with the temptation the next time we face it. Without this acceptance, we might have good intentions for doing it differently next time, but chances are we will be doomed to repeat the same mistakes. We must take ownership of our actions.
- Change It
If we do not like the behavior we see in ourselves, we need to change it. And this is where we need God’s help, because change is difficult. As the prophet Joel said, we need to wake up, pray to God, and proclaim a fast so that God will intervene on our behalf. Our conversion of heart will only take place through acts of repentance. Therefore, we must change our situation so that God can change our heart.
Lent is not a time to give up something just to give up something. Many will give up a favorite food, activity, or social media and leave it at that. That’s fine, but the whole point of giving up something is to replace it with a spiritual practice.
Maybe you find yourself too busy to pray. Try to wake up 10 minutes earlier to start your day with prayer. Maybe you’ll want to do some spiritual reading or even read the Bible. You may choose to take time throughout the day to pray through meditation, to allow God to speak to you. It’s all about what you feel called to do. (Somebody once said that if you are fasting but not praying, you are just dieting.)
Make a point to go to confession. There will be many opportunities to do this during Lent. Also, give of yourself through service to others. Do something to help those in need – and there are a lot of people in need right now.
And all of this ties in with our Lenten symbol which contains three important images: the word of God, the cross, and a dove. It is something for us to hold onto during our Lenten journey to remind us of our need for change – which only happens through prayer, sacrifice, and with guidance from the Holy Spirit.
Ash Wednesday, Lent, and Confession remind us to reevaluate our spiritual lives by reflecting on the things we have done, not done, and must do. Let’s begin today. All we have to do is name it, claim it, and most importantly, change it.
Here’s a beautiful prayer as we begin our Lenten journey.
Once a person establishes an ongoing personal relationship with God, one can carry on a conversation with God all day long. God is always present to
us. We to be aware of that. Then we can begin to talk to God about anything and everything. As human beings, distraction can affect our conversation just like two people talking and suddenly a loud sound distracts us, but we then try to return to the subject at hand. When distractioms affect our conversation with God, just move aound in your home and when you enter another room, recognize God is there too. These are tips I learned from reading “The Art of Prayer” by Martial Lekeux, OFM.
I failed to mention in my immediate previous comment that this is my positive spiritual work I am doing for lent; as I am continuing to develop my relationship with God through silent conversation.