Standing at the edge of Lent, I find myself
reflecting upon the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And I think of this from Charles de Foucauld:
“When you want to write on a blackboard, you must first
wipe off what is written there.’
Several things occur to me as I read this. First of
all: chalk is not permanent. Nor are my sins. Once the
“board” has been erased, the original mistakes can no longer be read.
Second: a blackboard cannot be erased unless something
is done. Someone has to actually take action and clean the board.
Third: a chalkboard eraser is not a steel wool
pad. It is soft. It’s made to clean the board, not harm
it. If a blackboard could feel, I doubt it would cry “ouch.”
“God,” wrote St. Gregory the Great, “scourges our
faults with strokes of love, to cleanse us from our iniquities.”
Strokes of love. Not lashes and paddles, but strokes
of love.
Jesus wants to erase every one of my sins. He knows I
cannot do it on my own. He has given the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a
(gentle, loving, healing) Eraser. I pray, as this Lenten
season begins, for the grace to “confess my sins, do penance, and amend my
life."
May Our Lord write what HE wants on my life. May He make it
totally His own.
This is a slightly edited repost. It is linked to Reconciled to You and Theology is a Verb for 'It's Worth Revisiting Wednesday.'
So beautiful! I'll remember this!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne.
ReplyDeleteLove the quote by St. Gregory the Great!! This is such a great reminder that our sins are not permanent, but also we must *do something* about them, if we expect them to be forgiven - go to Reconciliation, and plan with a true intention to do better next time!
ReplyDeleteI love that quote too... it gives me so much hope!
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