We are human. We flub up. We make mistakes. We make bad choices. We cause pain. So we need to be reconciled with God, with each other, and with ourselves. We need to be honest with ourselves, and to seek forgiveness so that we can move forward with grace and freedom.

Leader: Let us begin with the sign of our faith. All:+In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Leader:Lord God, we open our heart, mind, and spirit to your presence and your grace. Help us to humbly offer ourselves into your love and mercy today. All:Amen.

Please be attentive to the song called “Shelter Your Name”. As you listen think about the truth spoken in the song and the invitation given to us.

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“But you belong to God; so run from all these evil things, and follow what is right and good. Pursue a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for what we believe. Hold tightly to the eternal life that God has given you.” The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

We all desire the best in life. We want to be happy. We want to be loved and to love. We want freedom. We want success. We yearn for “the more.” But we make mistakes, and we hurt ourselves and others. The sacrament of reconciliation invites us to name and claim our mistakes, our weakness, our struggles, and our desires. The sacrament invites us to give these to God, humbly and trustfully, and let God help us make the changes we need to make.

So today, we invite you to go into the deep places within yourself where you have hidden your hurt and sin, your guilt and regret. We encourage you to do some soul-searching and to be courageously honest with yourself. We encourage you to move forward into the sacrament, to speak humbly and honestly to a priest, and to hear the words of absolution and know the power of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

“For I know the plans I have for you” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you, says the Lord. “ The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Know that you are infinitely unconditionally loved by God.

Lord, fill me with the breath of your Holy Spirit. Give me the desire to say “Yes” to the life you invite me to. Give me courage to turn away from those things that chain me and keep me less than free. Give me humility, that I may not think too highly of myself and thereby ignore you and others.

Help me to be generous, that I may share the goodness of life with others. Help me to be compassionate, that I would care about the needs and suffering of others. Help me to know mercy: to realize my own need for forgiveness, and likewise to extend forgiveness to others.

Help me to trust that you love me immensely and that my life is worth living fully. Help me to believe that I have something important to contribute to this world. Help me to love. It is the only thing that will give true meaning and happiness to my life. Amen.

Today in one of your class periods, your class will be invited into the theatre for reflection time, prayer, and to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation. There will be Examinations of Conscience on a sheet of paper available for you there. We are privileged to have a number of priests with us today. We invite and encourage you to make good use of the opportunity given to you today. Here is the process: 1.Please sit in the theatre with one empty chair on each side of you. Each person needs the quiet and the space. 2. Listen to the music, watch the candles flicker, pray, reflect, and then when you are ready to go for reconciliation, moved into the back or front row of the theatre, and wait your turn. Teachers will be assisting to move the lines through.

3. Once you have celebrated the sacrament, please return to your seat, and offer a prayer of thanksgiving. 4. What if you are not Catholic? The need to name sin, and seek reconciliation and conversion is a human need, not a Catholic need. All students are encouraged to avail themselves of the grace being offered to them in reconciliation. Out of respect for the sacrament (as understood in our church) we just ask that you indicate to the priest that you are not Catholic and he will give you a blessing instead of absolution as the channel of grace. For all of us, the step forward in honesty and humility is the essential thing.

Let us pray together in the words that Jesus gave us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Let us pray together a closing prayer: Loving God, we ask your blessing on us as we search our hearts and prepare to confess our struggles and sins. We bring ourselves humbly to you. We seek conversion. We trust in your love for us. You have called us each by name. Bring us back to you Lord. Help us to make the turn. May we breathe deeply of the Holy Spirit. We ask for your grace and healing. Amen. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

May the grace and peace of Jesus be with your spirit.