The 7 Quick Takes That Wasn't

1. I really wanted to publish a 7 Quick Takes post tonight. I have all kinds of thoughts in various word documents on my computer, waiting for me to organize and compile them into a summary of seven ways that technology has enhanced my spiritual life in one way or another. I want to tell you about certain apps I have on my phone and my iPad, some I use all the time, and some that I want to learn how to make better use of. I want to tell you about some websites with fancy interactive prayers and scriptural Rosaries. I want to share some of the Catholic books that I've downloaded and read on my iPad Kindle app. And I want to ponder the question, am I relying on technology too much, and is it really bringing me closer to God? And how I miss the days when I would just sit quietly with a cup of coffee, my Bible, and a Rosary.

Instead I'm giving you a few random takes about other various things and hope that post will materialize between now and next Friday.

2. I'm actually kind of excited about my New Year's Resolutions, even though I've made way too many. Last year I made only one: To go on a gluten free diet sometime during 2011. Right before the beginning of Lent, I took the plunge and I've never looked back. (Well, maybe I have looked back just a little: all the times I've opened a gluten free beer for myself and a Fat Tire for Larry, wishing I could have one of those instead; making chocolate-chip cookies for everyone else, and wishing I could have just one; when the server in a restaurant brings out steaming hot bread, and darn it, I wish I could have some...) I've also decided that if I'm going to keep any of my resolutions, I'd better not push myself to try and implement all of them at once. Like that exercising 20 minutes thee-times-a-day thing? Hasn't happened yet.

3. I went to confession last night. I'm hoping--it isn't really a New Year's Resolution, but almost--to take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation more often--once a month, ideally. I'm thinking maybe on the Wednesday before First Friday...we'll see if I can keep that one. For the first time I took my phone into the confessional with me, with my list of sins I generated with the help of the confession app. In the confessional I told Father I was trying out the app for the first time and I'm not sure if I liked it or not. Young Twenty-something Father B laughed and said he prefers the manual version, but if I wanted to use the app that was fine with him.

My take on the confession app: I have it on both my iPad and my Android phone. It's a great tool for my examination of conscience, but I think I'd have to agree with Father: I'd rather write down my sins and bring that with me rather than trying to fumble with my mobile device.

I wrote this in my journal last week:

After receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I feel more grateful to God for His gift of forgiveness, and I'm overwhelmed at how much He loves me even though I don't deserve it. I'm kinder to everyone around me.

Boy, is that the truth! Each time I go I feel just a little bit closer to Christ. I didn't want to leave the church afterward; I just wanted to sit with Jesus. And I have been kinder to everyone today, I think, including myself.

4. I wanted, in my 7 Quick Takes Post That Wasn't, tell you about my new efforts with a prayer journal and how I'm using technology (Microsoft Word and the Internet) to do that as well. A few thoughts I wrote--er, typed--down last week:

Do people know I'm a follower of Christ? They hear me talk the talk and say nice words but what do they see? Too often they don't see much of anything, I fear.

What star guides me toward the Lord? My family. My gift? My willingness to do whatever I need to in order to help them on their journey toward Him, so that they will reach Heaven.

Jesus is the Bread of Life. My Sunday School teachers used to tell me that I received the Bread of Life by reading the Bible. I know it's more than that, of course, but those times when I used to read the Bible every day (or nearly) I felt closer to God and much more at peace.

And this:

Years ago when I rationed coffee to myself (and only drank wine on the weekends, and exercised regularly) I used to pray, "Hey, Mary, I'm tired and I still have a lot to do before retiring. Could I get some extra energy to get through the rest of the day, like a second wind? Thanks." It always worked.

This week I've been saying this prayer almost every evening. And it does work, just like before.

5. Guess What!

It's still Christmas!

Happy Epiphany, and have a wonderful weekend!

And please visit Jennifer's Conversion Diary blog for more Quick Takes.

The Blessing of Reconciliation

This past week, my eight-year-old received his first Penance. My baby, my youngest, has officially reached the age of reason. He was a little nervous about it, he said; the night before, when I sat with him to help him go through the Ten Commandments, he looked at the list briefly and announced that he was ready.

This year, the second graders celebrated First Penance during their Religious Education classes, and as I was preparing for my own lesson for my fifth grade class (coincidentally, on the Sacrament of Reconciliation), he was literally hopping up and down: "I wanna go to my first Confession! I wanna go to my first Confession!" As I sat in the pew and waited, I wondered what he would say to the priest. After his brief time in the confession room, he bowed his head for his penance, and then turned around to look at me, with a great big grin on his face. "That was fine!"

That is how I feel each time I go to Confession. I feel a little nervous about the prospect of stating my sins out loud, even though I know that God already knows my weaknesses. When I emerge after receiving absolution, I always feel a great sense of joy. "That was fine, and I am clean again!"

As a convert to the Catholic faith, the Sacrament of Reconciliation was one that I struggled to understand; I knew if I asked God for forgiveness for my sins in prayer, he would forgive me. Why did I need to go to a priest? And wasn't Christ's death on the cross for my sins enough to reconcile me to Him? I have learned over the years that YES, I can go to God in prayer and confess my sin; and YES, His saving work on the Cross, once for all, freed me from slavery to sin. But I've also learned that sometimes it is helpful, and even necessary to confess my sin to a priest. First of all, it is comforting to have a person, a representative of Christ on Earth, say to me, "I absolve you from you sins; go in peace." The priest who heard my first confession nearly thirteen years ago, said to me, "These sins are behind you; you've confessed them, now FORGET ABOUT THEM." I have also learned that the Sacrament of Penance was instituted by Christ himself, when he appeared to his disciples after His Resurrection:

Jesus said to them, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." --John 20:21-23

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a gift from God that too many of us take for granted. Let's not forget that Jesus loves us infinitely and knows all of our faults, and we can approach the confessional with joy, not trepidation. My kids have figured that out, and I'll hope I'll remember, too!