Yesterday, my kids got the best present ...

... they received their First Sacrament of Reconciliation! Yep, on March 21, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. my LegoManiac and his sister, String Bean, were given the great honor of having their souls cleanses of any actual (vs. original) sins that were on their consciences.

We are so blessed to have as administrator of our parish a wonderfully loving priest who walked the kids through the process and taught them that Reconciliation is a fantastic gift from God that only helps out. It's not something to be feared or ignored, but rather encouraged and looked forward to.

This was a point that my dh and I constantly reinforced with the kids as we prepared them for this Sacrament. For too long, many people have thought that Confession, Penance or Reconciliation (all names for the same thing) was something to be feared. Protestants don't understand why we would want to go to a priest to tell our sins.

As Fr. Leo Trese explained in his The Faith Explained

the peace of mind and soul which the sacrament of Penance imparts to us is
one for which there is no substitute. It is a peace that flows from a
certainty, rather than from an unsure hope, that our sins have been forgiven and
that we are right with God. (pg 433)

So the break that we've made in our relationship with God, by using our free will and going against God's will, is remedied through this Sacrament. Who wouldn't WANT to go to Confession?