It is always an honor to volunteer at Catholic conferences and retreats. I have attended and volunteered at many in my life, each leaving me with profound, quiet experiences. This was the first time I was put on a Reconciliation team, and it has been my favorite one by far. At this Catholic teen conference, I was able to witness up close the love and mercy poured out by God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Each volunteer on the team was given a different role. Letting people into the room at the door, counting how many came through, managing the 500+ teens in line, nervously examining their consciences. Part of my role was to let the next in line know which priest to go to when they became available.
2,199.
2,199 teens received mercy and love.
2,199 teens had the courage to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation that weekend.
Some were squirmy, some asked me questions, some showed complete peace knowing what was to come. All waited with open hearts.
25 priests In Persona Christi waited with loving hearts in a large room, each holding a small wooden stick with a unique colored symbol attached. When a priest became available to hear the next confession, he would raise his symbol for me to see.
Each priest was open to hearing anxious teens confess their sins. Open to giving counsel as a loving father. Open to teens asking for guidance on how to confess since it had been 1, 5, 10 years since their last confession. Open to aching backs and sore throats from sitting and talking for 2+ hours each day.
I watched these colored symbols rise and fall throughout the room: Send the next heart open to receiving mercy.
A green heart.
A blue cross.
A purple dove.
A white fish (made to swim through the air, lightening the room with suppressed laughs).
A red star.
As I watched these symbols appear throughout the evening, I reflected on what they might represent. The green heart reminded me of Jesus’ Sacred Heart pouring out love. The blue cross recalled His sacrifice for our sins. The purple dove brought to mind the Holy Spirit sanctifying our lives. The white fish reminded me of Christ feeding the hungry, and the star recalled the Star of Bethlehem guiding us home.
Each attendeeโs journey that day started with repentanceโa radical reorientation of oneโs life.
2,199 souls had the courage to wait in line, examine their consciences, pray for true contrition, and receive pardon and peace.
The symbol on the stick was important because it indicated an open spot for a heavy heart to be relieved by Godโs mercy.
While watching for that symbol to be raised, the priestโs hand being raised to give absolution struck even deeper in my heart. Now and then I would hear the priestโs words of absolution.
โThrough the ministry of the Churchโฆโ
โGod the Father of merciesโฆโ
โMay God give you pardon and peaceโฆโ
โI absolve you from your sinsโฆโ
Pardon and peace.
Pardon from turning their hearts away from God. Pardon from 1, 5, 10 years of sin built up in their souls.
Peace being granted to control their hearts. Peace that lasts. Peace that remains.
The final night of reconciliation, when the line was dwindling down, I went to the priest with the green heart and asked if he could hear my confession. By then, the phrase pardon and peace was running through my mindโI longed to hear those words for myself. Through Godโs faithfulness and love, monthly confession is in my prayer routine. It had been about 3 weeks since my last confession, but that didnโt make me any less ready for or open to receive Godโs mercy, especially after witnessing all those teens have the courage to do so.
Father started the words of absolution and paused, took a deep breath, and slowly and gently said, โmay God give you pardonโฆand peaceโฆโ as if he knew it was on my heart. What a gift to be seen, known, and loved by our merciful Father.
Seeing 2,000+ young hearts receive pardon and peace deeply moved my heart.
May Christโs perfect peace control your heart, and may you have courage to receive pardon through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash
