ORLANDO  |  Lent is less than one week away. The season of penance prepares us for the Lord’s glorious resurrection but also fills some hearts with stress when focused on the sacrifices ahead.

In this Jubilee Year of Hope, the best tool available to remain on mission is the Sacrament of Reconciliation — a Sacrament of Hope, filled with God’s love and mercy. The Sacrament grants forgiveness that bears life and moves each person further on their journey.

Father Phillip Mills, parochial vicar at St. James Cathedral, noted his love of the jubilee year’s motto. “The Latin is Peregrinantes in Spem which literally means Pilgrims into Hope,” he said. “It reveals the fact that if we are going to be proclaiming hope to the world, then we need to enter the hope that Christ offers us first.”

Understanding it can be intimidating and difficult to speak one’s sins out loud to a priest, he explained how he, a confessor, views it. “When we’re hearing those confessions, we know we’re entering into something sacred,” he said. “In fact, the darker and the deeper parts of your heart that you reveal, bring home the reality that we are like Moses coming up to the burning bush. We’re walking into where God is and where He desires His love to be burning even more.”

He noted Christ’s words, “Everything in the darkness is going to be brought into the light.” (Ep 5:13) “We hear that and think, oh my gosh, that’s terrifying. But what’s the light? It’s His love,” Father Mills added. “What’s He saying? Everything you bring to me I will love. Every part of yourself you bring to me, I will love.”

He smiled and continued, “We think every time we sin, it’s like a board game, and we’re going back to home. No, when you’re coming to confession, you’re moving further ahead. You’re going farther than you ever were before.”

Paraphrasing Pope Francis he added, “God’s mercy is so much greater than our sinfulness, that when we sin and have repented and come back to Christ, we are actually more capable of receiving His love than before we committed the sin.” He urged to hold back nothing, because “if you go into the tomb with Him, you’re going to have a closer view of the resurrection than anyone else.”

Missionary of Mercy Father Anthony Aarons added, “Sin is a refusal to be loved. This is about relationship – when we get to the point that we consider ourselves so unworthy that we don’t deserve anything, then we stay away from that which is going to give us the health that we need.”

In John 20:23, Jesus, after His resurrection, grants the apostles the authority to forgive sins, yet another source of hope, said Father Aarons. He noted the Sacrament heals the soul and a healed soul is a perfect instrument through which to reveal God’s love to the world.

He quoted one author’s definition of evangelism: “Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” Father Aarons drew the correlation to reconciliation. “Once I have found the forgiveness, I can say, ‘You can too!’ Then we can be persons who bring hope to others.”

He conceded many faithful are in denial of what sin looks like in their life. Quoting 1 John 1:8 he said, “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves. We recognize we are not where we should be.” He explained Christ’s resurrection gives each of our journey’s hope. Emphasizing it is about being honest with ourselves, he called to mind the Examination of Conscience. He said, “It’s taking a good look in the mirror to see ourselves warts and all, rather than pretend we are so good. It’s honesty and allowing ourselves to be challenged by the readings we hear at Mass.”

“Life is a journey. On this journey we face a lot of things. We get beaten up. We lose our GPS, and we want to get back on track. So often we feel so lost,” Father Aarons noted. “It is tempting to give up. But then we pause, and the pause is confession. We confess our sins and then we are given forgiveness. What the forgiveness says is your slate has been wiped clean. Everything has been made new. Now is the opportunity for you to begin again. That is where the hope is – that we’ve not come to an end, but a pause to continue the journey.”

Father Anthony Aarons is one of 127 Missionaries of Mercy appointed by Pope Francis in the U.S. He is rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe whose mission is to serve the countless travelers who come to Orlando from near and far in search of the Sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation.

To read more about the Sacrament click here.

Sacrament of Reconciliation at the Shrine, 8300 Vineland Ave, Orlando, will be held Monday thru Friday, 10-11:30 a.m. and 2-4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-noon

By Glenda Meekins of the Florida Catholic staff, February 27, 2025